A Patch of Eco

I have now finally completed a round of eco dyeing and finished putting my patchwork scarves together. I'm quite happy with the results, although I had no idea it would take so long to finish these. Their first viewing will be this weekend at the Wollongong Artisans market, Wollongong City Art Gallery. Unfortunately the web photos dont show the true colors of the completed pieces however you can still get an idea of the end result. I have used mainly kimono silk linings provided by the lovely Jill of Kimoyes. Jill, is based in Canberra but travels all over Australia selling her beautiful, fabrics and silk creations. She has a regular store at the Old Bus Depot Markets , Canberra where we first met.

The most challenging aspect of assembling these scarfs was sewing into the kimono silk. I discovered it is quite a dense silk and that my sewing machine was at first struggling with its tension. It took me a little while to adjust the tension and find the right needle which did not puncture the material and was able to glide through the silk. I am very happy with the end results even though these scarves too way longer to create than I had first anticipated. Guess that is so often the case with anything creative!

On the right are may dyed pieces drying. Below is fabric soaking in a dyepot of osage orange. This is a dried plant I bought over the net. I dont think we get this plant in Australia.
The picture below the osage orange dyepot is another piece of fabric that has been clamped also known as the Shibori Itijame technique. The clamps are placed in a way that creates resists in the fabric preventing dye from penetrating those areas which leaves gorgeous patterns as the end result. I have used this technique along with folding and tying in this range of scarves.

I will be teaching a natural dyeing workshop in February. See my website: www.studioamara.com.au
for further information.