My rust dyed book
Rust dyeing is really simple, cloth, rusty metal, water and vinegar. I started with leftover muslin ripped into almost square pieces about 9 inches wide or long, gave them a quick rinse to get any starch or fabric finish out, and layered them, still wet, in a container with the metal bits shown above. Thinking that the muslin needed to stay wet (not sure this is true) to facilitate the movement of the rust from the metal to my bits, I added enough water and vinegar to keep the bottom couple of layers wet and then put a tight lid on the container. The next day, I made sure that the water hadn't evaporated (Tucson summer, triple digit temp, single digit humidity) and rearranged the layers. The 3rd day, I decanted the cloth, removed my metal bits for future use, and rinsed and rinsed and rinsed and then threw the cloth in the wash with a load of clothes. After the washer, I laid them out on our front bench to dry.
When they were dry, I ripped each piece into 4 quarters, 4-5 inches on a side. I have just been reading about the slow stitching movement both online and in books like Slow Stitch: Mindful and contemplative textile art by Claire Wellesley-Smith, The hand-stitched surface by Lynn Krawczyk, and From thread to needle: Contemporary embroider art by Charlotte Vannier. These little squares were just crying to be stitched on. My intent was to do one a day at the end of the day as a way to wind down. Here's the first
For record keeping purposes, they will be posted on my Instagram.
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