Eco Dyed Silk Scarves

All levels

In this workshop students capture the beauty of leaves and flowers in botanical prints on a colorful silk scarf. Time will be allotted to experiment with different color combination, layouts and techniques. Participants use what they have learned to design and create a beautiful piece of wearable art that expresses their own creativity and taste. Most supplies are included.

In this workshop students capture the beauty of leaves and flowers in botanical prints on a colorful silk scarf. Time will be allotted to experiment with different color combination, layouts and techniques. Participants use what they have learned to design and create a beautiful piece of wearable art that expresses their own creativity and taste.

Supplies
Please bring the following:

• 4-6 large ziploc bags
• A roll of plastic wrap
• 3-5 pairs of disposable gloves
• You will need to bring enough leaves to cover your projects, as dense or sparsely as you like. It’s good to have more than you think you will need, and plenty to experiment with. Around 80-100 leaves might be a good place to start. Bring the leaves in a shoebox or small bin or similar container.
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Fresh leaves are ideal. I recommend keeping an eye out for good sources of leaves, and then picking them the morning of class, or the day before.
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You can use dry leaves, though old leaves may not work quite as well. No special preparation is needed, as long as they don’t mold or crumble. We will soak dry leaves to make them flexible again.
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Maples, oaks, ferns, etc. work very well. Mulberry, tulip poplar, wild grape, and pokeweed flower or berry sprigs are others to try.
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You can also try walnut, sumac, black locust, alder, blueberry, willow, buckthorn, birch, goldenrod, redbud, fig, strawberry, rose, cottonwood, sweet gum, blackberry, sassafras, passionflower, Virginia creeper, or anything else that has a shape or texture that you like.
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Along with leaves, you can try flowers, stems, roots, etc as long as they are not woody or thick- like grass that has gone to seed, leaves along a thin vine. I don’t recommend anything too stiff or three-dimensional (including thick grasses, large flowers, etc) but you can always give it a try.

All other supplies are included.