Making Leaf Prints on Merino and Silk.

We made samples of leaf prints using the steaming method.




Identifying and matching leaves and prints.





Placing leaves radomly and using a sequence onto merino and silk fabrics.



To enhance green colours we used copper pipes to wrap up the fabric and leaves into bundles.




Wrapping the bundles tightly with an iron rod, for dark tones, and string.



Composting the waste leaves and saving the dyed string.



Unwrapping bundles!
We look forward to showing you the results of our bundles on the following post.

Auckland Point enjoys a morning of eco-dyeing at Lud Valley.

Transformations 2011: Eucalyptus leaves are magic!

Eucalyptus leaf prints eco-dyed onto habotai silk using the hot eXtraction process.



Making samples to discover the colour eucalyptus leaves will make on silk.




Rolling and wrapping the samples into bundles ready to be steamed.




Unwrapping the samples, will the colour be blue? It is orange and red!




Making large bundles of eucalyptus leaves and silk for scarves.



We are amazed at the transformation of green leaves and heat create orange and reds. MAGIC!

NMIT Presentation of Art Mural Thursday 5th May 2011

The mural fits in with the sensory panels in the playground.



Thank you to NMIT for inviting us to take part in the School Mural Project.

Welcome to Transformations 2011

We are researching colour through dyeing using natural materials and plants.

This project is inspired by the artisan India Flint and her book Eco Colour.

Hapa-Zome Process.

Hapa-Zome means 'leaf-dye' in Japanese.

It is a process where we beat the plants and leaves with

plastic mallets to get a print on fabrics.


We made up rhythms with our beating and counting songs.

We worked in a group on this recycled cotton vest.

We enjoyed seeing the beautiful prints we had made.

The plants gave a fragrant perfume a well as a beautiful prints.

We tested the colour fastness of the prints using warm

water and a natural soap and discovered that the rich

colours turned brown. We decided to use this process

on fine papers and fabrics for packaging and display.