Eco-Printed Scarves

One of the things I wanted to do with this (new to me) Eco printing technique was to make scarves. I sell them in my booth at the Woolworth Walk Art Gallery in downtown Asheville, N.C. so this would be a good way to go. You are basically working on a white scarf....color can be added with a color carrier (another post) but can be tricky and would like to start with a little color to begin with. 

Soooo.....I decided on my favorite "go to", very versatile paint - Dye na Flow. It's not really my favorite but by far, the easiest and will work on any fiber - both natural and synthetic. It is the consistency of water and leaves no hand on the fabric....so I use it a lot and also have used it in many workshops I've taught over the years. When I want some visual texture, I use a crumpled up piece of plastic underneath so the paint will form bubbles and dry that way...to me, it's more interesting than a smooth, solid color.

The middle scarf here, is the one in the picture above that was just painted...this scarf has been Eco printed using the heat press. I'm not sure how I like it. The background color seemed to migrate towards the center leaving the edges very light, although maybe that could be an interesting effect. The leaves do not show very well either...maybe a lighter wash of Dye-na-Flow would have been better...it's all experimenting at this point which I also enjoy.

This one was created at a friends house with a heat press. The blue (might be a smoke bush or a plum tree from our subdivision) really pops but think I need more of something in there

This third one done on crepe du Chine was very soft and mottled...I like the amount of leaves...could have used more of a pop but I can go back and color some of it with something permanent....very subtlely....This technique takes a lot of experimenting and practice and even then you never know what will happen.

Now here's a beauty done by my friend Kathie Briggs...she just nailed it;  this is something to strive for.

This is the first one I did in a workshop with Vicki Bennett....a different method of printing..using a turkey roaster and steaming it rather than a heat press...both produce interesting results.

I'm chomping at the bit for spring to come and the trees to get their beautiful leaves...

Happy Valentines Day everyone...Wishing you a wonderful, happy and love-filled day!