Dyeing with Safflower

This winter I have been playing with a basic method from wildcraftdyeing at youtube. I use scoured yarn (mine is handspun) and  then mordant by simmering with alum for an hour. 

Find some safflower at your local halal market for a pittance. I don't have any weights to recommend (weight of goods or "WOG") . 

 Put the safflower in a net and simmer a large glass container that is in a water bath...

Then,  simmer your yarn at a low simmer for an hour, this is wool. 

 

I was expecring a darker color...maybe orangey. But I am into yellow this year...

Sewing with Handwoven.

About two years ago, I bought a used Kromski Harp loom. I rather like it, it's the widest one that they make. Keeping the shed open in the higher position is tricky at times, but I LOVE the warping board that is built in. This one came with a stand.

I decided to weave with some peachy silk yarn that my friend Janet spun and gave me; it's one of my favorite colors and one of the pastels that look good on me.  I made yardage in an 8 inch width in a spontaneous weaving style.

I love making clothes, and I love coming up with my own colors and shapes that are wearable for me.

I decided to make a top, and purchased some coordinating peach linen from Fabrics-Store.com. (I am also an advocate for natural fibers, a separate discussion is needed on how natural is a textile that has been power manufactured and artificially dyed...topic for another day). 

I used a base pattern from Fabrics-Store.com also, and cut it up to place the handwoven in front and back.

How I'm Spinning Cotton

 I have been gifted over the years with picked bolls of upland (short staple) cotton. I even grew some from seed that was then swarmed with bugs. The idea of spinning from a boll is so tempting.  But I could not do it, even with hand card prep. (I will need lessons on how to do that...)

Cotton is attractive to me because I live in a warm climate, and I think I'd like to weave with handspun cotton..

Two years ago, I bought an absurd amount of cotton at SAFF, blog post here. Three huge balls of sliver (the cotton term for roving). I decided to retry. I knew that my "inchworm" technique would not work unless I wanted a thick and thin result due to the short staple.  This is supposed to be Sea Island cotton but the staple is still really short, about an inch.

Here are some inchworm efforts:

I watched 2 videos on youtube that told me to speed up my wheel and use long drawver and a hunk of the sliver. No go for me. (I haven't tried puni's.)

A friend loaned me a charka that needed to be put together. Oh no.  I just want to spin!

Then a friend, Suzy of SWHFiberworks, mentioned that she SLOWS down her wheel,  SPLITS the sliver, and draws only minimally. OK, FINALLY!

Here is an unsplit piece of sliver

Abnd here is one that's been split into 1/8, I  might even be able to go to 1/16 if I'm careful

And here are some spun results. I should measure the wraps per inch but I know it's better than the inchworm technique

Koigu Tapestry

I love my KoiguKPPPM and decided to explore its color changes in a tapestry done on a small frame loom. 

I am happy with this although next time I might make the wefts more diagonal and use more oof a wedge weave technique...

More small batch dyeing: annatto and sappanwood dyeing on wool

 More small batch dyeing probably for tapestry...the three on the left are annatto, sourced at Al Madinneh Halal Market here in Savannah, dark pink is sappanwood, next is annatto overdyed with sappanwood, far right is the end of the sappanwood dyepot, it went purply at the end! All are handspun wool, the roving was gift from Her Majesty Margo!

All except the overdyed one were premordanted in alum...