Dyeing fabric with flower and iron

Last weekend I tried another technique (seen on facebook) to natural dye wool. I had previously soaked rusty nails etc. in water and vinegar for a few weeks. Then I soaked white cotton fabric in the solution. This would be my "iron blanket" to help dye the wool.
After laying out the wool filled with flowers, I covered it with the iron blanket, rolled it up tight and steamed it for a couple of hours.
 

Left it over night, the next day this is the wool on the left with blanket on the right.

This is so rich in color and much prettier in real life.
The iron blanket will be put back in the solution for another day.

Next piece was colored leaves from my azalea bush and eucalyptus leaves.

 

I love the outline prints from some of the leaves. Don't know how they came about, this is the magic of natural dyeing. You never can quite create the same effect twice.

And from my herb garden, I had a little bit of purple basil left. On to the cloth it went with a iron blanket.

And the reveal.

End of Summer Flower Dyeing

Near the end of Summer the flowers and leaves are full of dye just waiting to be extracted. First though, a little tour of some of my flowers. These are a newer variety of  Cone flower (echinacea),

the different shades of color in one flower is unbelievable. I haven't tried dyeing with these yet.

                                Another new variety of cone flower.

We've lived in our home 40 years and have had boxer turtles living out back the whole time. Every year one or more will come out to visit.

This wonderful old log home beam on our property is well over a hundred years old, it always looks it's finest in summer.

My flower garden I plant specifically for dyeing with.

                            Everything's ready, lots and lots of cosmos.

Once in awhile I dye with a little bit of metal wrapped in the wool. It gives unpredictable pattern and color results.
                           Metal gear with cosmos and madder roots.

                     Saw blade with ferns and silver dollar eucalyptus.

Old rusted nail with lemon eucalyptus and dyers coreopsis flowers. There is a lot of dye in these little flower, yelow in the lemon eucalyptus.

Honey suckle and dried coreopsis.

Cedar branches and coreopsis.

Purple basil and lemon eucalyptus.

Ready to go in the caldron, all tied up with plants and metal.

Simmering on the fire, too much fun!!
After it simmers an hour or so I leave it over night to cool.

The big reveal.

The rusty saw blade with flowers.

Cosmo flowers and little madder roots (the red prints).
This one is so cute in real life.

Can you see the fern print?

Saw blade print with ferns and silver dollar eucalyptus.
This blades' print remind me of an moth or owl.

Cedar branch prints and cosmos.

This is the lemon eucalyptus and dried coreopsis flowers.

Lemon eucalyptus and purple basil.
This one is really beautiful in real life.