harvesting colour – rose petals in a pickle jar – results
On April 9, I tried dyeing white silk with dried rose petals.
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rose petals, scattered on the silk
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Originally, I intended to let the colour develop for at least a month on the silk in my pickle jar. But curiosity got the better of me after six days. Colour had developed in the first two days, a deep magenta in the vinegar and on the fabric.
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Tonight I opened the jar and rinsed out the silk. The process is a little messy, with lots of petals floating in the rinse water. And the results …
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silk fabric dyed with dried flower petals … the deep pink is from the extra flowers I added
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You may remember that I folded a few other flowers into the silk. In retrospect, I should have seen the unnatural pink of some of the flowers … I think the florists did a little dyeing of their own and that is what is making the bright pink on the fabric. It looks a bit artificial for my taste, but I do love the brownish magenta that colours the background of the fabric – that colour seems to be from the rose petals. Silk certainly takes up colour eagerly!
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the magenta seems to be from the rose petals – a more natural colour
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Once the fabric is dry, I intend to hem the silk for a tablecloth. I use tablecloths all the time and this one will remind me of a special bouquet!
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Snippet of a longer poem I wrote after this adventure …
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remnants of the bouquet
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petal colour
stains fabric
eager to make
an impression
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deep pink dried flowers I added to the rose petal mix … I should have realised they were too bright to be ‘real’
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I have carefully rinsed my pickle jar, intending to use it again!
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Copyright 2014 Jane Tims
nichepoetryandprose 
Hi Sheryl. I think it will look quite summery as a table cloth. Jane
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jane tims
April 18, 2014 at 11:04 pm
I like the variegated hues. The various shades of pink work well together (and I even like the way the deeper pink from the other dried flowers looks).
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Sheryl
April 16, 2014 at 10:48 pm
It’s lovely, Jane. I even like the spots of bright pink.
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Robin
April 16, 2014 at 7:55 pm
Hi … Thanks …. I also think the pink will mellow once I wash the fabric and hem it. Jane
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jane tims
April 18, 2014 at 11:02 pm