Botanical leather imprints testing 植物印染皮革試驗

 

 These days I have done a few more botanical imprints mainly with gerbra flowers and sewed into pouches.

 I can't recall how many pieces of leather imprints I have done and made into purses. A few of my signatures below.......

 They're made with sheep leather and pig leather.  Some are stiff some are so soft.

 It's not easy to buy appropriate leathers for botanical imprints locally.  Usually I source raw sheep/lamb leathers.  Today just got two pieces of quite soft, thin and white dyed sheep skin.  I don't know how it was tanned and was puzzled if it work but good price only about 3.5 euro.  No harm to try.  With the flowers bought I immediately done testing with simple layout.
玩皮革植物印染充滿挑戰性，因為皮革貨源及其處理不一，我通常購

買原色羊仔皮，這日店主給予一片已漂白柔軟又便宜的小羊皮，但試驗後效果不佳但仍有作為，所以，怎麼樣的皮質不防一試，我就是這樣做了試驗又車縫成實用皮包包。

 Mogi, my cat is always my helping hand.

 

"Hmmm.....mum it's fine for bundling and cooking....."

 I was expecting the flower prints looks like the previous one done with impressive outcome, particular the gerbra printed so nice.

 

Opened it with curiosity but I was not pleased and the leather shrank almost half the original size and the flower printed just purple without "in-depth" look and other plants even without color.

 Anyway I mounted it to air dry.

 The more it's getting dry the more it's stiff.

 

 Though not a successful printing I wanted to make it functional. I cut it to make a few pouches.

Zipper, lining label..... all in hand.

 

 Leather is a bit stiff so I cut and sew it while it's not all dried. Otherwise it's hard for machine sewing.

It's done. Prints of both sides.

  

Another one of both sides

 This one is disaster, all dark without much prints.         Still made it into a purse.

  

Printing on leather is challenging and outcome depends much on choice of leather. However we can do trials and even make the swatches into something useful.

 That's enough for a few pieces.  Mogi was so nice to follow me from day to night......

 

He says "Goodnight....."

Oh, it's my space. His territorial behave always occupies it !

 

Few of the pouches of different prints and shades.  I like to do small swatches prints as the size just right to make it as make up pouch or whatever use.

 Can I imagine just with natural dyes and ingredients I can make such colorful botanical imprints on leather with different outcome?

  

Yes, I can make it ....

Last but not least I have an instant download pdf tutorial for the botanical imprints making.  It's simple if you can source the right leather.  You may like to have a look on my ETSY.

Good match leather prints 找到了我的皮革天然印染

 A good find, really perfect match I found finally.

I tried many times natural printing on leather, this is the best lamb skin I've ever sourced.  Last week when I passed by a street stall I found the very soft lamb skin, good price, good quality and so soft after steaming.

最近終於找到很好的羊仔皮做天然植物印染, 也是終日沈醉的研究, 踏車時撿拾或朋友給予的花花草草共冶爐, 烙印著天然的植物色素, 製作了好幾個包包, 自己都滿意, 有點愛不釋手呢.

 

The size is the whole piece of a small lamb.

 I'm really into leather prints.  These days I have been doing with assorted plants particularly love the flower prints.  I like to print on the down size (not the smooth surface) as outcome looks much better. 

Photos below speak themselves........

 Cosmos printed from yellow to red

 

Gerbera and nandina

 Lemmon marigold, willow and cosmo

 Hibiscus I love most, delicate and vivid.

 

Hibiscus tiliaceus

 

 Sometimes I use flowers of home grown or from friends' garden.

 Sometimes I pick windfalls while biking

 

This is purple but prints no colour yet shape is pretty.

 

Today I went biking with the lambskin prints for shooting.  It's soft as a towel.

 I've made a few pouches with the swatches.

I'm crazy now!  Almost every day doing experiments after I found the good material.  Fun to play and share.

Week of eco printing 一周豐盛的植物印染

  

This is a week of eco printing we got inspired.  Two students came for private tutelage.  We done from basic to advanced.  From silk to cellulose fabrics as well paper prints. As usual I got some plants and flowers on my bike rides.  Now is summer for some kinds of flowers.  I grasped the blooming and done some experiments.  Indeed there're lots of weeds around are printable with the mordant techniques learnt from Irit Dulman.  

又是一周的忙著私人個別教學, 兩位不同日子到來學習不一樣技巧的學生, 從基本簡易的絲綢而至不同纖維布料媒染處理的植物印染, 花卉草葉烙印在紙張上呈現的天然美. 就是這幾天製作成果..

 Student May who has artistic visual on delicate placement.

Photos below speak themselves.......

May has lots of plants in her rural house so she brought lots to try.

 

Anticipating unwrapping..... no matter what comes is surprising.

Open it and shake off the leaves...... here comes after dry....

  

This is knitted jersey drapes well.

Placement of plants like flowing movement.

 

  

All come from natural pigments of leaves, weeds and flowers.  Even the weeds without pigment the white resist prints are just icing on the cake.

We've done different fabrics like cotton, linen, rayon, canvas......all works,

 

This piece with all kinds of plants mostly from May's house. 

 Such a nice sample prints for future reference.  

  

 Video of fabric prints done

   Pile of assorted cellulose fabrics of different prints done in two days.

Not only fabric prints I shared but also eco paper printing.
Before playing prints I showed my samples.

Flowers got on biking and tested on different sorts of papers. 

  

Mogi's paw stamp approved then we started the paper prints.

 

Stack of assorted papers sandwiched with plants boiled for an hour.   

Yellow, blue, red or even shapes are that natural.

 

This is handmade paper from reed grass May done and printed.

Prints on different kinds of papers

 

 

 

Touch of love of the all purposes greeting cards.

This is video of paper prints making

The other day tutelage for student Christine who's new to eco printing.  The basic printing skill of making shades and shapes is interesting.

A piece of silk scarf of assorted leaves and flowers done in 3 hours.  Christine is pleased with the scarf and quite interested to move on to explore more. 

I'm happy that now we have more local students want to explore the bounty of nature.