Selvedge Craft Projects
Selvedge have some amazing craft projects. The latest addition is how to make The Argyll Quilt with Jenni Smith. Click our link to be taken to the craft project page.
How is Ajrak cloth printed?
A wonderful video from YouTube showing the ancient process of producing a hand-crafted Ajrak block printed cloth.
Selvedge 2022 Workshops
Selvedge is running a number of online workshops throughout the year. Check out what is available by visiting https://www.selvedge.org/collections/workshops
They also have some great talks you can listen to https://www.selvedge.org/collections/talks
Natural Dyeing Lockdown 2021
With time on our hands and a few sunny days it was a perfect opportunity to spend time having fun natural dyeing. Wonderful results with eucalyptus and iron modifier as well as Brazilwood and Logwood.
We used a range of fabrics and yarns; cotton, linen, silk and wool.
For further images follow us on Instagram
Solar Dyeing with Kids
This is such an easy dye technique anyone can do it!
All you need is…
- A jar with a lid that can secure to the top or alternatively wax paper & string/rubber band
- Water
- Natural fabrics, yarn or thread
- Plant materials
- String
I always find onion skins both yellow and red transfer to the fabric really well but you could try leaves from trees, shrubs and ferns. Eucalyptus leaves are great to try and you can even use old rusty nails or bits of copper, even tea leaves are worth sprinkling over the fabric. Beetroot and red cabbage also do well, and so do red berries but I often can’t bring myself to use them when all I want to do is eat them! Give anything a go!
- Wet out your fabric, yarn or thread so it is damp; you can mordant these in advance if you wish to.
- Place your natural materials on to your fabric.
- Fold or roll your fabric up with the natural materials inside and tie with string. You can also do a layering of natural materials and fabrics etc until the jar is full.
- Fill jar with water to cover everything and secure the top.
- Set in the sunniest position you can find so the water is heated as long as possible; turn every couple of days so that every part of the fabric gets exposed to the sun.
- Leave for as long as you can; a month is great if you can stop the urge to open the jar and see what the fabric looks like!
Solar Dyeing on Linen
Solar Dyeing on Raw Silk
Solar Dyeing on Cotton
There is lots of information online about solar dyeing and printing. There is some great information and videos on https://momlifehappylife.com/natural-dye-lesson-plan/ and https://lacreativemama.com/natural-dyeing/
Have fun!!
FREE Tea Cosy Pattern
Provenance Tea Cosy – To fit a 2-3 Cup Teapot
What you will require…
- 2 balls of Provenance recycled silk sari yarn (50m) or 1 hank of spun recycled cotton sari yarn (50m)
- 6mm knitting needles
How to Knit Two Sides of the Tea Cosy…
- Cast on 21 stitches and work 32 rows of garter stitch (knit every row) this will create one side of your tea cosy. When the side is complete thread the stitches onto the remaining yarn and pull tight to gather; secure ends of yarn.
- Repeat this process for second side.
How to Assemble Your Tea Cosy…
- First weave in the tails of the yarn.
- Pin sides together at the bottom and top of the cosy and fit over your teapot.
- Pin to fit around the spout and the handle making sure the openings are quite loose as this makes the cosy easy to put on and take off.
- Using a blanket stitch in either embroidery thread or ordinary sewing thread stitch sides around both openings.
- With the left over yarn make loops to decorate the top of the tea cosy.