Join us on Thursday at the Arts Complex Edinburgh for our first Textile Club.

These monthly demonstrations, workshops and talks

by some of Scotlands best makers aim to cover the most interesting developments in Textiles.

e mail alex at loomhaus@aol.com for details and bookings

Textile Club - Thursday 26th September

Hello - In order to get the most out of this first Textile Club session - it would be beneficial if you could bring along a small hammer, a selection of fresh leaves and flower heads, used teabags and fine wire. Eco Dying – Thursday 26^th September

Tonight we will explore Hapa-Zome (flower pounding), hot & cold bundling and rusting on cloth: introducing you to natural (eco) fabric colouring techniques. We will be using local flora and kitchen waste such as teabags. You will have to wait a few days before you ‘reveal’ your bundles, but in Blue Peter style I’ll show you some I prepared earlier!  We will also explore mordant’s, leaf prints and flower trapping.

·         We will start with a show and tell where I’ll introduce you to the two techniques we are going to try showing examples and reference material.

·         Bundling – and Rusting (cold)

·         Flower pounding

·         Label all the work.

Essential equipment for trying this at home:

Hapa-Zome:

·         Small hammer ; old chopping board or sturdy table top; selection of natural fabric’s e.g. silk, cotton, linen (preferably mordanted with Alum);

Kitchen towel; embroidery scissors; tweezers; thin skinned flower or plant materials you may wish to work with

Flower Trapping:

·         Baking parchment • Fusible Webbing (Fuse FX) or Bond-a-web • Backing fabric (Any fabric with a smooth surface) • Chiffon or organza

Hot/Cold Bundling:

·         Natural fabrics (can be pre-mordanted with Alum for cold bundling); plant materials/teabags; wire; vinegar; rusting powder; thread; zip-lock freezer bags; old stock pot for hot bundling

References:

·         India Flint: Second skin – Choosing and caring for textiles and clothing

·         India Flint: Eco colour – Botanical dyes for beautiful textiles

·         Linda Rudkin: Flower Pounding