Saving for later

[elizabeth]

I recently purchased some red currants to use for a party. I have a lot left over and they'll probably go bad soon.
Can they be used to dye with and could I freeze them and use them to dye with later?

Along those lines, I have Nandinas. Lots of Nandinas. I really love them, but they are invasive in this area so I want to remove the berries before the birds get at them and spread them. 
Any idea if they are good to dye with?

[MTRuth]

Looks like you need to do some samples Fruit doesn't usually hold very well but I know that you can freeze them and use them. According to India Flint, that works better. Never heard of Nandinas. But the best way to find out is to try samples with different parts of the plant and see what happens. You can also use different mordants to achieve different colors with the same plant.

[luvswool and dyestuff]

Agreed, samples-- but as Ruth said, fruit may not hold the dye well. I recently used dried elderberries as a dye for wool, and it gave a lovely light purple color. You could look at India Flint’s books on dyeing with plants, and also Jenny Dean is well-known for eco-dyeing along with plenty of practical information. I enjoy the process.
You just never know what you will come up with! P.S. Never heard of Nandinas.

[elizabeth]

Nandinas. AKA Heavenly Bamboo.

[sonia]

I used redcurrants recently. I boiled them up for about 5 mins & rubbed them thro a sieve. I soaked the wool in very salty water for a couple of hours, then drained it. I put the wool & the redcurrant juice ( with a little water to top it up & cover the wool) in a jar with a lid, in the sun for two days. It worked really well.
I tried some blueberries & they only took a very light colour. I am waiting for some cultivated blackberries to ripen to try them (these ones taste horrible so no one minds me using them !)

[zed]

Could you use berries in the same way leaves are used for eco 'printing'? Lay them on the silk or felt and roll up etc. I don't really know the process, but I saw the same being done with onion leaves recently and they gave good results.

[luvswool and dyestuff]

Have most often seen berries and onion skins, beet roots, etc. used as dyestuff, not for making prints. I don’t know that the dried berries would make an impression and soft berries might be too mushy to make prints.
I did some eco-printing yesterday with plants from the garden, ordinary plants. Unwrapping today!

[koffipot]

Aug 13, 2015 19:54:45 GMT elizabeth said:

Nandinas. AKA Heavenly Bamboo.

Looks very like a Berberis.

[koffipot]

Yup, samples, samples, samples.

[zed]

Yeah, I didn't think it would make an actual clear print, I just meant be applied directly to the fabric in that same way to create a dyed patch.

This is the post I saw, scroll down to Clive, he used his onion skins directly and the effect is really nice:
lincsinstitches.com/2015/07/29/eco-dying-at-artvango/

[chookie2]

I can so relate to the comments on that link---"just popping out to the local junk shop to find some old pots" ...after my first eco-dye class I was off and running to all op shops (charity shops) in 50 klm radius of my home in Western Victoria.Looking for big aluminium pots as dye baths and old wool blanketing as wraps- which also dye print really well aaawhile acting as wrapping, and make up into strong bags - so double value.Found two good wool blankets- nice and thin and plain cream at a Lifeline shop and a big aluminium jam pan at another. what a treat!