Natural colouring
Just as in the kitchen, the plant can be subdivided into three sections as well in the dyeing process, to achieve several colour nuances: blossom, leaves and root. A dye bath of decocted flower heads on mordanted silk fabric creates a vibrant yellow. The leaves induce a natural greenish yellow and colouring with the root results in delicate beige. The dandelions natural flavonoids are able to create a colour spectrum from beige, yellow and green to dark brown and grey according to the use of different post-colouring treatments. Herbal dyeing methods in general are affected by many different factors, depending on inflorescence, season and weather conditions.
The special feature of the described colouring process technicalwise is that the dyeing properties modified in an after-treatment by the use of specific, customized screen printing pastes. By additional screen printing, the dyed silk fabric is selectively manipulated in colour.
tamed dandelion
The proliferating and unpredictable nature of the dyeing plant is confronted with graphic, equilateral triangle patterns, which is derived from the serrated shape of the leaves. The patterns are silk-screen printed which means the results are repeatable – in contrast to the plant dye, which varies with each dye process. The designers are combining these two refining procedures and develop a method to control the dandelions various hues on silk fabric by the use of a natural, chemical reaction without having to use additional dyestuffs. Hence a threepart series of silk scarves emerged, refering to the three parts blossom, leaves and root to show a graphical play of the dandelion and its natural colour range.