Carol Hargus (Owner and Dye Artist) shares two different Natural Dye techniques using roses that are easy to do at home and totally family friendly. 

The Rose has been revered throughout history and embraced by various cultures for it’s multitude of medicinal, spiritual, emotional and culinary attributes.

At Soul Studio, roses are often present in our designs, we love recycling these beautiful gifts into wearable art pieces.

There are many techniques used to transfer the magical properties of The Rose into textiles. Extraction is one method that can easily be done in a home kitchen with a pot, heat source, water and roses.

Our preferred method is a steam extraction method (bundle dye/eco print) that produces lovely imprints of the Rose leaf while infusing the essence of the petals into the textile and immortalizing the natural beauty.

Happy Dyeing!

Materials:

NOTE: Use non-reactive metal (or glass) for all steps

-Stainless Steel deep pot (3-4 gal) dedicated to your dyeing projects

-Tongs and long non reactive long spoon (wood is ok)

-Wire mesh strainer

-Measuring utensils

-Colander and/or steamer tray (for eco-printing option)

-Multiple pots and buckets

-Kitchen scale

-Eco friendly parchment paper such as “If You Care”

-Natural untreated cord, either hemp or cotton

-Vinegar and Lemon

-Empty Spray Bottle (for half and half Water/Vinegar Mix)

-Alum for mordant animal fibers, alum sulfate for vegetable fibers

EXTRACTION METHOD (TO CREATE A LIQUID DYE BATH)

• Chop clean petals (free of dirt ) into small bits
• In cold H2O at 2:1 ratio, bring to boil H2O and Rose petals, reduce to simmer for 1 hour.
• In separate container wash fabric in hot H2O with few drops of PH neutral soap (to ensure fabric is as clean as possible)
• While simmering Rose petals,make note of weight of textile,then soak textile in vinegar/H2O at 1:3 ratio for 1 hour. Rinse and gently squeeze out excess moisture.
• Strain Rose petals and squeeze them to extract all of the essence into your dye bath
• Add squeeze of lemon juice and wet textiles to dye bath. Leave to soak for few hours or overnight.
• Rinse and hang to dry out of direct sunlight.

BUNDLE DYE/ ECO PRINT TECHNIQUE

• Begin with clean, mordanted textile*, lay out on flat surface, wet with vinegar/ H2O spray.
• Sprinkle fresh or dried rose petals all over textile
• Carefully roll or fold fabric up until it's as small as you can get, trying to avoid wrinkles as best you can
• Roll up tightly in Eco Friendly parchment paper. Wrap tightly with cord.
• Steam for 1 hour, flip at least once if you are able. Monitor it so you don't run out of water 
• Remove with tongs, wrap in old towel and let sit for a few hours to let the color set.
• Unwrap, shake out as much plant matter as possible it will still be wet), and hang to “cure” ( out of direct sunlight) leave for 1-2 days.
• Rinse and then wash in hot H2O. At both rinse stages you will most likely experience some color loss, which is a natural part of the mellowing process.
• Gently squeeze out excess moisture and hang to dry out of direct sunlight.
• Enjoy

(Mordant your fabric beforehand using these instructions based on your choice of fabric. We prefer using Alum as noted above)

You can order additional mordanting/natural dye supplies here

Please reach out with any questions directly to the artist: hello@wearesoulstudio.com or feel free to DM us on Instagram @wearesoulstudio