Eco printing is the process of transferring color directly from a flower or plant to a piece of cloth. It’s a simple and fun natural dye technique that gives truly stunning results. In this post, I will show you how to eco print with flowers.
Eco printing is similar to bundle dyeing. However, the outcome is what sets the two techniques apart. With eco printing, the goal is to be able to see the definite shape or outline of the plant that gave the color. Whereas, with bundle dyeing, the goal is usually more blended and fluid.
Click Here for my online, self-paced Eco Printing Course.
Terminology
There are many terms that go along with eco printing.
Here are a few that I will be referencing throughout this tutorial:
- Target fabric – this is the fabric that you want the color to transfer onto
- Barrier – A piece of cloth, paper or plastic that minimizes the bleeding of the color
- Dowel – A piece of wood that is used to roll the fabric
Supplies
- Target fabric
- Flowers or leaves
- Dowel rod
- Barrier of choice (see options below)
- Ace bandage or cotton string
- Heat source
Choosing Fabric
Like other natural dye techniques, eco printing will only work on natural fibers. Natural fibers are fibers can be either cellulose (cotton, linen, hemp, bamboo, etc) or protein (silk, wool, other animal hair). Many choose to use silk because it takes prints really well. However, I have found that cotton and bamboo silk also work very well.
Choosing a Barrier
Barriers are necessary for clear and clean prints. Many eco printers achieve beautiful results by using single use plastic but there are many other, more eco friendly, alternatives.
Here are a few of my favorite alternatives to single use plastic:
- Kraft paper
- Parchment paper
- Packaging that comes on things ordered in the mail
- Cereal bags
- Thick cloth
Step 1
Dampen your target fabric then wring as much excess moisture out as possible. I like to give mine a spin in the washing machine. Then lay the fabric on a flat surface and smooth out any wrinkles.
Fabric should be pre-treated (scoured and mordanted) for best results. I like to keep the background of my eco prints as white as possible so I use the alternative mordanting process that I share in my online natural dye course.
Step 2
At this point, you have to decide if you want to lay flowers on the entire piece of target fabric or only on half the fabric.
If the flowers are laid on half of the fabric, the other half will be folded over to achieve a mirror print. I prefer this method, as it tends to give cleaner prints.
Step 3
Arrange flowers on the fabric face down. Some stems and leaves will give beautiful prints as well. There’s no wrong or right way to arrange your flowers. Play around and have some fun!
Step 4
If you choose to arrange flowers on the entire piece of fabric, skip to step 5.
If you chose to arrange flowers on half of the fabric, fold the other half over to make a fabric, flower, fabric sandwich.
Step 5
Cover your fabric with your barrier of choice.
Your pile should either look like
- Target cloth, flowers, target cloth, barrier
- Target cloth, flowers, barrier
Step 6
Starting at the bottom, roll your pile around the dowel as tightly as possible.
Bundles can also be rolled without a dowel but expect the prints to be a bit messier.
Step 7
Now it’s time to wrap your bundle! My secret to clean prints is to use an old ace bandage to wrap around the bundle. However, you can also use cotton string.
My secret to clean prints is to use an old ace bandage to wrap around the bundle.
Step 8
Now it’s time to steam your bundles! Place them in a steamer and heat for 5-15 minutes. I’ve found that flowers need a much shorter steam time than leaves.
Step 9
Allow the bundles to cool then unroll to reveal your magical eco printed fabric!
Step 10
Wash with a small amount of pH neutral soap.
At this point, the dye from the flowers has formed a bond with the mordant in the fabric so any dye that washes away is excess.
Click here if you’d like to learn more about natural dyeing!