Using natural ingredients to create pattern and surface

In my book, Contemporary Patchwork, I have a project that uses soy milk to paint on the fabric and I dye it with avocado seeds and skins. I like this project because you can find the ingredients in your kitchen.

You can experiment with other items in your kitchen like coffee, tea, onion skins and pomegranate skins. Below is an image painted with soy and dyed in different natural ingredients to yield different colours.

Another way you can create texture on the fabric is to put the organic matter directly on the fabric and create a bundle to steam. The shapes will come through on to the cloth. For this method it’s a good idea to mordant your fabric so the colour shows up brighter. This can be done by soaking the fabric in soy milk overnight.

You can also use flower petals and leaves to create different colour combos.

I hope these examples will encourage you start saving all your kitchen scraps to be used on your next textile projects. Have fun!

Shop Contemporary Patchwork at C&T Publishing. 

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Arounna Khounnoraj is an artist and maker living in Toronto, Canada. She and her husband, John Booth, co-founded Bookhou, a multi-disciplinary studio where Arounna works with fabric surface design and textile art. bookhou.com