Have you heard about the really popular book, The Modern Natural Dyer yet? This book is to dye for. It is absolutely gorgeous with rich photography throughout. And today we’re happy to announce that we have a special giveaway for one lucky reader! Read to the bottom of the post for all of the details.
The Modern Natural Dyer features a comprehensive list of dyes which can be made from plants, and one insect (cochineal). It includes 20 projects, each featuring a different aspect of natural dyeing. Now I finally know what to do with those black walnuts that fall all over the place in my backyard! The author is Kristine Vejar and you can learn more about her and her business, A Verb for Keeping Warm, here.
I had the pleasure of receiving a copy of the book as well as a Waves Bandana Indigo Kit. For the dyer who wants to dive into the deep blue, this is the kit for you. I was completely thrilled to spend an afternoon in my basement laundry room last week dipping items into the indigo dye vat, ready to have fun and create some fabulous fabrics. By the way, you will want to keep the cat safely in another part of the house like I did.
Want to see what I made?
The book contains the most user-friendly techniques and easy-to-follow details. I took the two bandanas from the kit and tried two different techniques from the book. The first one was a folding and clamping technique. I ironed the bandana into accordion pleats, then took several wooden clothespins and clipped them along both of the long folded edges.
The second technique was a pole wrapping technique. After some pleating and basting, this bandana was wrapped around a pipe with twine and then the fabric was pushed down to the bottom of the pipe. I could just use these as bandanas, but maybe I’ll use the fabric for another project. Maybe for the front yoke of a Hide-and-Seek Dress like I did here. Or an In a Clutch Cosmetic Case like I did here.
Thankfully there was enough space in the indigo vat to dye some more. On a larger piece of fabric I tried the stitch resist technique from the “Fishbone Dress” project. After the fabric was dyed, I used the Roller Skate Dress pattern since it provides an excellent canvas for showing off dyed patterns.
I’m so pleased with the results! I was able to create textiles as unique as a snowflake.
It looks like there are fun things in store for 2016. Kristine just filmed a series of videos about using natural dyes with Creativebug. They will be released starting in January 2016. There will also be a Work-Along, a year-long course of study to guide you through the book and the natural dyeing process. It is broken up into three phases and the Phase 1 Kit is already available.
Now for the giveaway! Along with a copy of The Modern Natural Dyer, you can also win your choice of one of the four project kits. The series of natural dyeing kits which accompany the book are all available through the A Verb for Keeping Warm website.
- Flowers At My Fingertips Kit: use flowers to print directly onto fabric, then, take this fabric and sew it into a sweet sewing kit
- The Northwoods Hat Kit: dye the yarn, then knit a hat
- Sock Hop Kit: dye a pair of socks
- Waves Bandana Indigo Kit: make your own indigo vat, then dye two bandanas
To enter to win a copy of The Modern Natural Dyer and your choice of a natural dye project kit, simply leave a comment saying which natural dye project kit you would choose if you were picked as the winner. Only one entry per person, please. Comments will close at 9:00 AM ET Saturday, December 19th, 2015, and we will select a winner at random. The winner will be notified by email. This giveaway is limited to US addresses only, it must be a physical mailing address (no post office boxes) please.