Ingredients

• Mordanted Silk Hankies
• Lac Extract – 4g or 1.5 teaspoons
• Your leftover Valentine’s Day bouquet (other flowers will do, too!)
• Dyes of The Américas Sampler Kit (Optional)

Skill Level

Easy / Beginner / Newbie!

PREP

15 mins

DYEING

30 mins dyeing

30 mins steaming

TOTAL

1 hour & 15 minutes + drying over night

This recipe is perfect for beginners! After you enjoy your special bouquet from your honey, put them to further use! We help you get started with our already mordanted silk handkerchiefs to give you an easy way to make a poppy pink bundle.

Tools You Will Need

• A non-reactive dye pot such as stainless steel
• A digital scale that measures in grams (Optional)
• A thermometer (an instant-read thermometer is good)
• A measuring spoon like an old teaspoon or tablespoon
• Stirring Spoon
• A few containers to dissolve powders
• Tongs
• A hot water source like an electric tea pot or a small pan of very hot water
• Heat Source ( stove, hot plate )
• A stainless steel colander or baking rack to rest your bundle
• Rubber bands or string
• Rags or towels to wipe up spills

These are all great tools to have to start your studio. Remember, dye pots are dye pots and no longer kitchen pots once you use them! It’s best to keep them separate.

What we supply

Recipe

Step 1.) Fill a dye pot with enough room temperature water for the hankies to move easily around the pot.

Step 2.) Using the scale, weigh out your lac extract. Use the very hot water to dissolve all of the dye.

Step 3. ) Add the dissolved lac extract to the pot and stir well.

Step 4. ) Carefully add the mordanted hankies. Slowly start heating the dye liquid. Stir for the first 15-20 minutes so the fabric doesn’t get uneven spots. It will take about 30 minutes total for the temperature to reach approx. 140F.

Step 5.) Hold the temperature at 145-160 F or 71 C for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, then remove the pot from the heat.

Step 6.) Leave the fabric in the dye pot overnight for deeper color saturation. Make sure it’s completely submerged and stir it a few times while it’s cooling. If you don’t want to wait, you can carefully remove the hankies and proceed to the next step.

Step 7. ) Rinse with cool water until the water runs clear and air dry.

Step 8.) Clean your surface area, and lay down a cloth or plastic as to not make too much of a mess. You want to have enough room to lay the hankies out flat.

Step 9.) Break up your bouquet and sprinkle the petals on the hankies, almost as if you’re making a pizza. This is where you get to have fun! There is no right or wrong way to be creative here, so let your intuition run free with the arrangement of the petals. I made two of the silk hankies with a leftover bouquet containing rose, marigold and eucalyptus and two with the Dyes of The América’s Sampler Box.

Step 10. ) Roll your bundles very carefully from end to end, as if you’re making a snake.

Step 11. ) Using rubber bands or string, tightly secure the bundle so the flowers don’t fall out.

Step 12.) Now carefully (steam is hot!) place the colander or grate over a pot of water. The steam will help draw the color out of the petals and onto the cloth. Place the bundles in the colander and steam for at least 30 minutes. Time is an ingredient in natural dyeing so if you can leave them on the steam for longer please do!

Step 13.) Once the bundles are done steaming, remove them from the colander with tongs. Steam is hot so please be careful or wait until your pot has cooled down.

Step 14.) Remove the rubber bands and string and unroll your bundles! This is the exciting reveal. Rinse all off all flower bits and run under cool water to rinse off the excess dye.

Step 15.) Let your creations dry overnight to cure and iron them with a hot iron! Give as gifts to loved ones or wear yourself <3

Please let us know if you’ve tried this recipe. Tag us on social at @botanicalcolors. We love to see what you’re making! Also, did you know we have a YouTube? Sign up and subscribe as we will be posting video tutorials there, too.