Madder dyed tunic with Elephants

Description

The design is made with stitch resist technique and stencils. The elephant design is on both sleeves and along the border, front and back. I consider my tunics to be works of wearable art and as such, that is how I create them.

Made with care and passion, each individual item in my shop is unique. All of my naturally dyed items are designed and hand dyed, by myself, in my small studio, in central Ontario, Canada.

The process of Natural Dyeing

Firstly, the fabric must be scoured. Next is mordanting. In the case of cellulose fibres (linen, cotton, flax), the fabric is usually soaked first in a tannin bath. Finally, the fabric is put into a mordant bath. The mordant attaches the dye particles to the fabric. Mordants are necessary in all natural dyeing in order for the dye to “bite” or take hold in the fabric. Once these steps are completed, the fabric is ready to be dyed.

Hand dyed items, such as this tunic take much time and effort. Each dye colour is prepared separately and requires a minimum of one hour in the dye pot. Printing the elephant design is done with a hand cut stencil and mordant paste. The circle designs are stitched by hand, using shibori method.

Please allow for some slight imperfections that are the result of the hand dyeing process. Due to the nature of natural dyes, the colours vary in different lighting conditions and they change over time. That is the beauty of the natural dye process!

This is a perfect gift for a special friend or for yourself. My customers have described my naturally dyed items as eye-catching and desirable.