What is Eco Printing?

It involves pressing the whole of the plant, be it leaf, stem or flower, flat against the fabric, and with a little bit of magic, the entire image is transferred!   

The Eco printing workshop is fun, experimental and often has intriguing results, which can simultaneously frustrate and fascinate! 

Eco printing is firstly, a great way to get out and reconnect with your local environment. Scouring the neighbourhood for plant material, asking your neighbour if you can pick leaves from their shrubbery is a real conversation starter!  Trips out to any green space will quickly turn into foraging expeditions.  As a result, favourite spots may become annual pilgrimages to collect seasonal dye material.  Dye plants can be grown nearer to home in the flower border.  And if you don’t have access to an outdoor space, then your local florist’s bin is a good place to start.

Secondly, eco printing can be both rewarding and frustrating because of the unpredictable colours and patterns released from leaves and flowers and the variations in colour given throughout the growing season.  Soil type, weather patterns and even the pH of your water will affect the colours achieved.  As a result, your prints are guaranteed originality and authenticity.  However, I must warn you. It is the unpredictability of the final outcome that can make the process of eco printing entirely addictive!  Lastly, whatever your crafty pursuit, eco printing is a social, cheap and earth-friendly way to create or up-cycle unique and beautiful paper and fabric items.

On this one day eco printing workshop for beginners you will learn the different techniques used to transfer colour from plant material directly onto textiles. You will have the opportunity to try your hand at the methods of rolling, bundling and hammering.  The pros and cons of each and how to apply them depending on your end goal?  You will gather fresh plant material growing here at Gingerfields to use and to take home for further practice. should you wish?      

  The decorative nature of eco printing makes perfect for adorning stationary, soft furnishing, clothing…  

On the day, we will discuss how to grow, harvest and store plant material for year round use.  How to scour and mordant your fabric in preparation for printing.  How to make and use iron water before moving on to:

• Collect dye plant material
• Make an iron bath
• Set up a steam bath
• Roll , bundle or hammer our fabric samples for steaming
• Rinse and dry samples for labelling
• Discuss the resulting works