Rolling Pin Project continues

Johnson Blue Perrenniel geranium (left front), red dianthus (left back), blue flower, I forget (left back-most), Stella D'ora daylilly (right front), Lady's Mantle (right back)

Many people are putting leaves, twigs and fallen debris into water, and soaking cloth in the mixture for ages to see what they get in the way of dyes. That takes too long.

I've been taking the leaves and petals off plants in the garden, tossing them onto cloth and then rolling the hell out of them. Completely different work ethic (barely there), completely different colour results (there's colour instead of shades of brown) and completely different plant matter (twig/leaf vs flower/leaf)

What follows is a short photo essay on how I did things. I used a very hot, dry iron to set the colour when I was done. No washing at all. I haven't put anything in a window to test for colour fastness yet.

Dianthus petals and chopped stems, Mollis leaves. Lay on one half of textile.

Textile folded in half and rollered. The big purple blobs are from iris leaves done in the spring with the same method.

Neither the Dianthus petals nor the Mollis Leaves did anything noteworthy. Onwards.

Johnson's Blue Geranium petals.

Mirror images happen by laying the half of the textile without floral matter on top of the textile that does. It doesn't always come out this neatly, because things squish around a bit. If a mirror image is not what you are seeking, then lay the top half textile at an angle to the bottom layer.

Mollis before rolling pin.

Textile after rolling the Mollis.

Geraniums, Dianthus and stems.

After smooshing.

Day Lilly petals, torn.

Mollis added partly through Day Lilly layering.

Day Lilly and Mollis.  You can see from the (your) right side, that I folded the cloth on an angle, so as to avoid a mirror image.

The thinner the flower petal, the less colour will come out. Yet the thicker the leaf, the less colour will come out. Sometimes you can get more colour by snipping the leaf or petal with shears, rather than by using them whole.

This is my usual random, haphazard approach. Someone with more patience could try for pattern repeats or compositions. I dropped and rolled. Sort of the way they tell kids to "Stop, Drop, and Roll" when you are on fire.