Show and Tell, September 2022

Ally 

Linen ikat with marigold, iron, and very faint Myrobalan

My latest ikat project let me practice some of the skills from the Natural Dye Workshop and get to know my newest loom. The ikat project I measured out 4 yards of linen warp and prepped it for dyeing.

The piece is made from natural linen. I used myrobalan as a tannin, dyed it with marigold (the yellow part), and then overdyed with iron. The marigold turned brown with the addition of iron. The myrobalan tannin faintly reacted to the iron, but much of the color difference disappeared after wet finishing.

It was a practice piece to get to know my “new” loom and to experiment with natural dyes and ikat. So mostly it was for experimentation, but I’ll probably sew something with it at some point.

Gudrun 

Kumihimo braid key fobs

These key fobs are a collection of braids in various colors and techniques, mostly cotton, some silk.

Can you spot the Lady Bug pattern, the blue-yellow flowers on a vine?

Most of them are Japanese Kongo Gumi braids made on a Kumihimo disk. The red, yellow, turquoise spirals have the nickname Laramie Braid and are derived from European straw-plaiting.