Once I finished stitching one apron… I was keen to keep going! I had trouble dyeing my other candidate apron so in the end I cut one from some hemp I had prepared for dyeing with soy milk. Hrm, very stiff for stitching. However–I took it with me for a week in Melbourne and constructed the whole thing by hand, then began stitching for sheer decoration.
Here is the top front, with leaves stitched into it using a variety of undyed threads. And here is the apron prepared for dyeing, with onion shells arranged over the embroidery.
And here it is after dyeing…
And in more detail…
It has gone to one of my beloveds–we make bread together quite regularly and he is often to be seen at our house sporting one of the kitchen aprons.
Local & Bespoke 
Beautiful.
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Thank you!
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Love the contrast between the stitches and the pocket.
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Thanks Leonie!
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I am a beginner in natural dyeing and I love your finished garment. Could you please tell me how you managed to dye it keeping the onion skins etc from completing merging with the eucalypt? fronds?
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Hi Sue, I’ve used the eco-print method originated by India Flint. So I placed the different plants where I hoped that they would print. From there the factors that increase the chances of distinct prints are–tying the bundle tightly–judging how long to cook it and leave it steeping (sometimes longer is great but it can also lead to colours travelling out further into the cloth and merging)–how you wrap it–. You can certainly include leaves and plant matter that you don’t expect to dye, in an effort to keep colours more separate. You can also use paper (India Flint has suggested this) or non-stick baking paper (this is where baking paper that has been used as many times in our kitchen as possible goes to die!) to try to control off-prints and colour bleeding. And after that, I try to embrace the mystery of plant complexity and the limits of my own intelligence, experience and skill–I could be learning about this process for the rest of my life 🙂
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What a wonderful reply, thanks very much. By the way, do you use ‘If you care’ compostable parchment baking paper? I found it in an IGA store in Northern Rivers but I am pretty sure it is also available here, at least in some IGA stores. Discovering it has relieved my guilt immensely! Sue
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No–I haven’t seen it. But I will keep my eyes open!
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That’s a beaut!
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