My gorgeous colorful harakeke earrings are now available at Mahara Gallery in Waikanae and Expressions Gallery in Upper Hut. The perfect original gift from Aotearoa/New Zealand.
I love colour! And I got this white cotton blouse from the second hand shop, and I had this indigo project in mind (one of the 192 projects I plan to do).
Summer and high temperatures, the perfect weather to start an Indigo Vat. I used the fruit vat method (over ripe bananas, indigo powder and calcium hydroxide/lime) from Maiwa. Easy to follow.
I folded and bound the back of the blouse into a spider web pattern (kumo shibori) and for the sleeves I bound kowhai seeds to achieve a nice delicate pattern (ne maki shibori). After several dips into the indigo vat, my blouse made this beautiful transformation.
I also disscovered that the rusty looking colour on the sleeves comes from the kowhai seeds I drilled holes in before…
https://www.birgitmoffatt.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/LogoWhite_header-180x180.jpg00HMNhttps://www.birgitmoffatt.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/LogoWhite_header-180x180.jpgHMN2015-02-21 15:27:232015-02-21 15:27:23A play with Indigo
Summertime and our 5 sheep needed a haircut. Susi is the boss of a group of 5 sheep and a very gorgeous Gotland mix.
Said, done.
This is the very nice fleece of Susi:
After washing and carding, this is the result. The wool is coarser than merino wool but it works really well for sculptural felt.
00HMNhttps://www.birgitmoffatt.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/LogoWhite_header-180x180.jpgHMN2015-02-02 04:54:072015-02-02 04:54:07The other day in the shed…
For a quite a while I’ve known that Barberry (Berberis vulgaris) has bright yellow bark and I’ve been keen to test their dye properties. Luckily enough, a few days ago I heard that my neighbours were cutting down their barberry bushes, so I used the opportunity to harvest some bark.
After soaking some bark in water (just enough to cover the bark) overnight.
I let the pot simmer for about an hour before I removed the bark to avoid uneven dyeing and plant matters in the fabrics. Fabrics soaked in water and then immersed. For each test I dissolved less than half a teaspoon alum and iron, and for the copper mordants I used a copper plate (any piece of copper will do, or even a copper pot if available – the old New Zealand 10 cent coin contains copper as well). These mordents help to fix the colour into the fabric.
I left the fabrics in the pot till the next morning and here are the results:
I did some shibori resist dye (ne-maki shibori) on the merino fabric, using kowhai seeds. The yellow of the inner circle seems to be stronger, so I assume that the kowhai seeds released some dye as well, love the delicate pattern.
Through my research I found out that the berries are also edible (a sour taste) and also can be used to dye fibres. I will have to wait till autumn to harvest some of those berries. You will hear from me!
I am really pleased with the depth of tone and will certainly use it for coming projects.
00HMNhttps://www.birgitmoffatt.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/LogoWhite_header-180x180.jpgHMN2014-12-30 23:38:322014-12-30 23:38:32Testing the colour from Barberry
My name is Birgit Moffatt and I am a visual art student now in my third year. I live on the foothills of the Tararua Ranges close to native bush and the Ōtaki River in the lower North Island of Aotearoa/New Zealand. I would love to share my experiences and discoveries relating to fibre and textile with you.
Feedback is very welcomed.
A new day
Come and join me on my journey through the world of fibres!
https://www.birgitmoffatt.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/LogoWhite_header-180x180.jpg00HMNhttps://www.birgitmoffatt.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/LogoWhite_header-180x180.jpgHMN2014-12-26 07:25:082014-12-26 07:25:08Welcome to my blog!
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https://www.birgitmoffatt.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/LogoWhite_header-180x180.jpg00HMNhttps://www.birgitmoffatt.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/LogoWhite_header-180x180.jpgHMN2011-02-17 21:11:582011-02-17 21:11:58Postformat Gallery: Multiple images with different sizes
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Harakeke Earrings
A play with Indigo
I love colour! And I got this white cotton blouse from the second hand shop, and I had this indigo project in mind (one of the 192 projects I plan to do).
Summer and high temperatures, the perfect weather to start an Indigo Vat. I used the fruit vat method (over ripe bananas, indigo powder and calcium hydroxide/lime) from Maiwa. Easy to follow.
I folded and bound the back of the blouse into a spider web pattern (kumo shibori) and for the sleeves I bound kowhai seeds to achieve a nice delicate pattern (ne maki shibori). After several dips into the indigo vat, my blouse made this beautiful transformation.
I also disscovered that the rusty looking colour on the sleeves comes from the kowhai seeds I drilled holes in before…
The other day in the shed…
Summertime and our 5 sheep needed a haircut. Susi is the boss of a group of 5 sheep and a very gorgeous Gotland mix.
Said, done.
This is the very nice fleece of Susi:
After washing and carding, this is the result. The wool is coarser than merino wool but it works really well for sculptural felt.
Testing the colour from Barberry
For a quite a while I’ve known that Barberry (Berberis vulgaris) has bright yellow bark and I’ve been keen to test their dye properties. Luckily enough, a few days ago I heard that my neighbours were cutting down their barberry bushes, so I used the opportunity to harvest some bark.
After soaking some bark in water (just enough to cover the bark) overnight.
I let the pot simmer for about an hour before I removed the bark to avoid uneven dyeing and plant matters in the fabrics. Fabrics soaked in water and then immersed. For each test I dissolved less than half a teaspoon alum and iron, and for the copper mordants I used a copper plate (any piece of copper will do, or even a copper pot if available – the old New Zealand 10 cent coin contains copper as well). These mordents help to fix the colour into the fabric.
I left the fabrics in the pot till the next morning and here are the results:
I did some shibori resist dye (ne-maki shibori) on the merino fabric, using kowhai seeds. The yellow of the inner circle seems to be stronger, so I assume that the kowhai seeds released some dye as well, love the delicate pattern.
Through my research I found out that the berries are also edible (a sour taste) and also can be used to dye fibres. I will have to wait till autumn to harvest some of those berries. You will hear from me!
I am really pleased with the depth of tone and will certainly use it for coming projects.
Welcome to my blog!
Haere mai ki taku ao!
My name is Birgit Moffatt and I am a visual art student now in my third year. I live on the foothills of the Tararua Ranges close to native bush and the Ōtaki River in the lower North Island of Aotearoa/New Zealand. I would love to share my experiences and discoveries relating to fibre and textile with you.
Feedback is very welcomed.
A new day
Come and join me on my journey through the world of fibres!
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Nullam dictum felis eu pede mollis pretium. Integer tincidunt. Cras dapibus. Vivamus elementum semper nisi. Aenean vulputate eleifend tellus. Aenean leo ligula, porttitor eu, consequat vitae, eleifend ac, enim. Aliquam lorem ante, dapibus in, viverra quis, feugiat a, tellus.
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