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Eco Printing and Dyeing

Category: <span>Eco Printing and Dyeing</span>

Everything old is new again. Dyeing fabric, yarn, thread and paper has come full circle – from dyed flax found in prehistoric caves to chemical dyes and automated printing to small-batch hand-dyers. Today, hands-on surface designers create their own art cloth with earth-friendly botanical dyes.

Back in the day (waaaay back), all dyes were natural. Leaves, flowers, roots, earth and insects, with the right tweaking, produced a range of beautiful hues. Then in the 19th Century, automation produced more goods. At the same time, modern chemistry produced a broader and more available palette of usable colors.

With that came the ability to better control the results. So when 20th Century fiber artists gravitated to materials dyed in small batches by people rather than machines, hand dyeing gained more practitioners. With the right combination of materials and techniques, an artist could produce “that red” consistently. So hand dyeing – and all forms of surface design – became an art in itself.

Fast-forward to today, the increasing awareness of each person’s impact on the environment sparks artists to experiment with natural dyeing. As a result, they produce colors of incredible depth. Because fiber artists share their discoveries, they continue to broaden the awareness of natural hues available to artists.

Enjoy a taste of eco-dyed color candy and be inspired to create color from nature..

Featured Eco Printing and Dyeing Artists

Tatiana Sarasa Purl and Poem hand dyed yarn

Spotlight: Tatiana Sarasa, Visual Artist

Tatiana Sarasa's art connects her with the earth. That connection gives her so much satisfaction that she promotes the connection through her own work and by providing a collaborative workspace...

Fault Lines vest close up

Spotlight: JoAnn Manzone, Felt Fiber Artist

With nature's inspiration all around her, JoAnn Manzone transforms natural plants, dyes and fibers into one-of-a-kind wearable art. Always a needleworker, she knew she had found her place in the...

Artemis

Spotlight: Chris McLaughlin, Fiber Artist

As a suburban child, Chris McLaughlin knew she was always a farmer at heart. Now she lives her dream raising animals for fiber and flowers for bouquets and botanical dyes. As...

More Eco Printing and Dyeing

Jane Dunnewold Alliance Completed

Spotlight: Jane Dunnewold, Artist, Author, Educator

Creating is vital to the person who is Jane Dunnewold. When not experimenting with surface design techniques and materials and making textile art, she teaches others to find their creative…
Fault Lines vest close up

Spotlight: JoAnn Manzone, Felt Fiber Artist

With nature's inspiration all around her, JoAnn Manzone transforms natural plants, dyes and fibers into one-of-a-kind wearable art. Always a needleworker, she knew she had found her place in the…
the finished tea dyed fabric

How to Dye Fabric with Tea

Dyeing fabric with tea makes a lovely patina for an aged look to a basic fabric. Tea dyeing does not create a major change in the color of the textile,…
Silk Diaries

Spotlight: Kylee Barnard, Silk Diaries

Kylee Barnard has taken a stress relieving hobby and elevated it into a rewarding business. Kylee does amazing silk dying for her business Silk Diaries when she winds down from…

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