unwrapping fabric bundles

The wrapping of these fabric bundles occurred throughout November. As each package formed it was placed into a hanging basket and the rest was left to time and the sun. I've previously dyed fabrics using rusty objects and have also explored how onions skins and beetroot colour fabric but was quite taken with the idea of extending it to utilise items and foliage from one's immediate surrounds, ie our garden. The inspiration for these bundles has come from the book "Eco Colour" by India Flint and in particular the chapter on solar dyeing. 1. detail shot of fabric number four 2. cactus cloth - peach leaves, rusty items, vinegar 3. PFD Kona cotton - fallen macadamia leaves, coffee, vinegar, rusty wheel 4. PFD Kona Cotton - geranium leaves, coffee, rusty coil, rusty bolts, vinegar 5. PFD Kona Cotton - fallen bamboo foliage, rusty items, coffee, vinegar 6. detail shot of the cactus cloth (this piece was only outside for a little over a week). The first bundle was unwrapped on Christmas day, what a wonderful treat. There are still a couple more bundles to unpack, and of course, I've made up a couple of new ones which I'm looking at uncovering around Australia Day (end of January).

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Rusty Fabric

Over the weekend I started working on my submission for the annual juried Art Quilt Exhibition through 2QAQ  the entries are due beginning of February. While I was searching through my fabric stash and auditioning fabrics for the submission piece I came across the above two pieces of fabric that I have dyed  using rusty objects. I really enjoyed doing the above pieces and plan to dye a couple more and make up a quilt with them. Both pieces are using cotton fabric. The piece on the left had been getting used as a rag cleaning up acrylic paint, the rag was hand rinsed and then popped through the wash which removed most of the paint but left some behind which has added a little bit of interest and depth to the background.

The Rust Fabric Dying Recipe 

Natural Fibre (for me this is usually 100% cotton fabric), white vinegar and rusty objects.

Take one or several rusty items and wrap/sandwich the item into the chosen natural fibre. Place the wrapped item into a seal-able plastic bag and pour enough vinegar over until the item is completely covered. Seal the bag and place in the sun for a minimum of 48 hours (I usually loose track of time and they end up being in the sun for 1 or 2 weeks). Unwrap the fabric, remove the rusty items and rinse out the fabric, soak in a salted water solution for an hour or so and then rinse the fabric again.