#naturaldyes — Public Fediverse posts

This scarf is a gift for my uncle, inspired by quartz clusters we saw together backpacking in Cottonwood Canyon in Death Valley. From what I've been reading I think they were formed by intrusive igneous rock forming around xenoliths, and by cooling very slowly forming the incredible quartz crystals we saw, which looked like rings around the darker xenoliths in the weathered rock face we saw. I'm not trained as a geologist though and would love to find more information about the geology of Cottonwood Canyon from someone with some real expertise!

The wool is targhee roving I got at the nor cal ren faire. I spun it on my small cross arm spindle and wove it on a loom I've been borrowing from a friend. It's plain weave set at 8epi. It looked very open on the loom, but fulled into a wonderfully bouncy and dense fabric.

After fulling I scoured the fabric, then used rubber bands to do this shibori inspired dye process. After putting on the rubber bands I gave it a bath in tannins I extracted from an oak gall, then in a bath of cool water with just a tiny bit of dissolved ferrous sulfate. It was so exciting to see the fabric turn grey in a a matter of just a few minutes when I put it in the iron bath!

#handweaving
#weaving
#handspinning
#naturaldyes
#dyes
#textiles
#handwoven
#handspun
#tiedye
#shibori
#oakgalls
#ferroussulfate
#naturaldye
#targhee
#wool
#geology
#xenolith
#quartz
#deathvalley

#JapaneseKnotweed: an invasive plant's potential for innovation

Classified as an Invasive Alien Species (#IAS), Japanese knotweed is renowned for undermining ecosystems. But some researchers, designers and architects are approaching the tenacious Asian perennial as a resource to create new material solutions for fine crafts, but also for industry. Formes de Luxe shines a light on four makers that are turning this ‘nuisance’ plant into an opportunity.

Christel Trinquier
Published on 01/08/2024

Excerpt: "Inspiring bio-concrete

In the UK, architect Irene Roca Moracia and designer Brigitte Kock (both graduates of Central Saint Martins) have also seized on the potential of invasive knotweed to create what they dub 'bio-concrete'. The material, developed as part of the LVMH Group's Maison/0 program for regenerative luxury, is inspired by the cement made in ancient Rome. Except that in this case, knotweed replaces wood ash and/or volcanic ash. Once incinerated, it is mixed with water and the shells of American signal crayfish - another invasive species in Europe threatening native fauna. The material is then poured into molds to obtain the desired shape.

"No heat treatment is needed as hardening takes place in the open air and no pigments are added either: the final textures and shades depend on factors including the proportions of ingredients in the mix, hardening times and reactions that occur between the water, aggregates (crayfish shells) and the Japanese knotweed binder. With the appearance of raw concrete, marble or natural stone, the duo's hand-shaped bio-concrete tiles come in a range of shades from white to wine-red, with or without inclusions of knotweed root fragments.

"For the moment the material is purely decorative as it cannot integrate structural architectural elements but is suited to store interiors, window displays or even in caps and ornamental pieces for packaging."

Read more:
https://www.formesdeluxe.com/article/japanese-knotweed-what-material-solutions.64278

#SolarPunkSunday #Cosmetics #SustainableFurniture #Bioconcrete #NaturalDyes #Paper #Fiber #BambooSubstitute #Cellulose #FallopiaJaponica