I hadn't dyed fleece before, only felt.
So this was rather fun.
My youngest - Little Pipkin - and I have been making dolls.
He was right when he insisted we really needed some 'natural coloured hair'.
So together, over the next 24 hours, we dyed a portion of the Big Bag
of Teeswater Sheep Fleece, I recently had bought from the UK.
As usual, I decided to 'wing it' and go by feel. I thought I really couldn't make the fleece TOO dark to use, any resultant natural colour would still look great.
I knew that coffee and tea could both be used to give a brown colour and that vinegar could be used as a mordant.
This was our method.
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| back tea. front coffee. |
Brown Fleece
12 black tea bags emptied into a stainless steel pan.
Stir in 2L of cold water.
Bring to boil and simmer for 1/2 hour.
Turn off heat and leave to stew for a further 1.5 hours,
it will begin to cool.
Strain the tea leaves from the water and
return the brown water to the rinsed pot.
Add 1/2 cup table salt.
Add 1/2 cup of vinegar.
Stir to dissolve salt.
Add 100g clean fleece - very gently submerge.
Place over low heat 1.5hours, with the lid ajar.
Then leave, with lid on, overnight. To soak and cool completely.
*Disturb the fleece as little as you can during the entire process,
to avoid dreadlocks and felting.*
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| tea |
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| coffee |
Blonde Fleece
1/3 cup percolator ground coffee into a stainless steel pan.
Stir in 2L of cold water.
Bring to boil and simmer for 1/2 hour.
Turn off heat and leave to stew for a further 1.5 hours,
it will begin to cool.
Strain the coffee grounds from the water and
return the brown water to the rinsed pot.
Add 1/2 cup table salt.
Add 1/2 cup of vinegar.
Stir to dissolve salt.
Add 100g clean fleece - very gently submerge.
Place over low heat 1.5hours, with the lid ajar.
Then leave, with lid on, overnight. To soak and cool completely.
*Disturb the fleece as little as you can during the entire process,
to avoid dreadlocks and felting.*
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| rinsing coffee dyed fleece |
I carefully poured the entire contents from the pot, into our bath and allowed the water to drain away, before submerging the fleece in cold clean water to rinse.
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front towel = tea.
back towel = coffee |
When no more dye was coming out of the fleece through rinsing,
I gently picked up pieces to lay on a towelling nappy square, pressed lightly to remove any excess water and then left in the shade outside to dry.
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Brown on left = tea.
Blonde on right = coffee |
I know just what I am going to use this fleece for!
I will be sharing those creations with you soon.
ღ
