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The latest from our blog

A Humble, Ingenious Leaf Mordant: Symplocos

November 17, 2024November 18, 2024

Sunday Visit: William Ingram and Jean Howe of Threads of Life Bali

November 17, 2024November 17, 2024

Mordant Monday: Sneak Peek on Hand Painting Yarns and Fiber

November 11, 2024November 12, 2024

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Our Mordanted Bandanas

Tannin Grayscale with Cara Marie Piazza – January 25, 2025

The Art of Pastel with Brittany Boles – December 7th, 2024

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Ancient dyes for modern times. Your resource for natural dyes, education and natural dye production.

Tannin Grayscale with @caramariepiazza Saturday

Tannin Grayscale with @caramariepiazza
Saturday January 25, 2025
10AM-1PM Pacific / 1 – 4pm Eastern

The workshop will be recorded and available for
120 days after purchase.

Learn how to create moody gray gradations using our pre-mordanted cotton fabric fat quarters, natural dyes, logwood and a few surprises.
Tannins are a bitter and astringent compound found so abundantly in many plants. In food, they serve as the slight pucker in black coffee and tea, and the “oaky” flavor in aged wines. Tannins are used in medicine and for leather tanning. For us, they are the natural dyer’s not-so-secret-weapon to beautiful color. For the natural colorist, tannins provide a rich base for unusual and eye-catching combinations, and they’re particularly effective on plant fibers such as cotton and linen.

In this workshop, Cara will demonstrate how to create a gorgeous gray color gradation using our pre-mordanted fat quarter blanks. These fabric packs come with 4 fat quarters (each approx. 18×22 inches), and each quarter is treated with a different tannin. We’ll learn how to work with each tannin base shade, how to combine it with other dyes, modifiers and indigo to make a stunning gradation for stitching, quilting, appliqué and other uses.

She will explain how to create unusual color combinations with full instructions for each tannin base. Detailed notes will serve as the inspiration for creating your own signature shades. With 4 different tannin options, the color possibilities are endless, and you can apply this technique to other tannins we carry.
Each participant will receive a PDF of how-to aloeng with hints and tips. In addition, all participants will receive the link to view the video to follow along.

#naturaldye #tannin #naturalblack

A Humble, Ingenious Leaf Mordant The plant world

A Humble, Ingenious Leaf Mordant

The plant world contains species that draw alum from the soil and store them in their tissue - they're referred to as alum accumulators or hyper accumulators. There's a plant species called symplocos that is an alum accumulator and contains enough alum to be used as a plant-based mordant. We carry symplocos and are happy to have a new shipment arriving this week, so it's a good time to review this mordant alternative with a great backstory.

The Story of Symplocos

In 2005 and 2006, The Bebali Foundation (a partner enterprise to Threads of Life that focuses on sustainable economic development and natural dye processes) held two workshops of natural dye traditional weavers throughout Indonesia. One of the key issues that came up was that the traditional mordant ingredient, leaves and bark from a tree called "loba" was increasingly scarce. Without it, the weavers could not obtain the traditional red from Morinda citrifolia, a very important color in their palette. Sellers of loba were quite secretive about their sources, so the weavers did not know what the plant looked like or where it grew. According to the Bebali Foundation website: " The weavers all knew that their red dyes depended on this plant and that their incomes depended on making dependable red dyes. They gave the Bebali Foundation a mandate to identify the plant, find out where it was from, and rebuild a sustainable supply."
Read more on our #MordantMonday Blog! Image courtesy of @threadsoflifebali

Sunday Visit: William Ingram and Jean Howe of Thre

Sunday Visit: William Ingram and Jean Howe of Threads of Life Bali

A little backstory from Kathy:

I’ve known Jean and William for many years through their trunk shows held in Seattle, where they’d speak about their cultural and natural dye projects in Bali as well as bring an array of incredible traditional textiles to view and purchase. From the beginning, I was impressed how they always put the weavers and communities front and center to their work. The quality and breadth of work are extremely fine, and the Seattle Art Museum acquired a dozen pieces for the Ikat exhibition in 2023. We’re honored and excited to work with them for this upcoming tour to Bali.

William Ingram and Jean Howe are co-founders of Threads of Life, a Bali-based social enterprise that has worked with over 1000 traditional weavers and their families in 50 communities on 12 Indonesian islands since 1997. Jean’s work has focused on the intangible culture embodied in Indonesia’s textile arts. Through handling thousands of the highest quality traditional textiles, she has developed a deep knowledge and is a steadfast advocate of the archipelago’s textile arts. As director of Threads of Life’s sister nonprofit, the Bebali Foundation, since 2002, William has led the organization’s support for sustainable cultivation and use of natural dyes by these same communities. He is the author of “A Little Bit One O’clock: Living with a Balinese Family”.

To read the full interview head to our Sunday Visit Blog post!

Our mushroom towels from @juneanddecember are rest

Our mushroom towels from @juneanddecember are restocked!!!!

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