I prefer eco-printing on cotton rather than wool for a few reasons. Cotton clothing is easier to find at op-shops, and in a wider range of styles, than wool. Upcycling clothing that already exists feels like the most ethical way I can do a lot of eco-printing, so it makes sense to go with what is readily available. I also love the wider range of colours and textures that I can get on cotton. Eucalyptus leaves mostly print solid colours on wool, whereas prints on cotton often have extra details like blue dots.
When I was writing my ebook, I wanted to show the difference between wool and cotton eco-prints. I did a range of small samples with the same leaf sandwiched between one piece of wool and one piece of cotton. It was so interesting to see the different colours that came from the exact same leaf on the different types of fabric. All of these photos show the wool on the left and the cotton on the right.
Some of the mordant on the cotton did transfer somewhat onto the wool, seen most starkly in the dark borders around the leaves and gumnuts above, so I can’t expect the same results with these leaves on unmordanted wool.
I was especially excited to get some more insight into which leaves dye best on wool. Lots of the eucalyptus leaves here in the Blue Mountains dye quite pale, especially without any mordant. I noticed that I got beautiful bright oranges from silvery-blue leaves, while the greener leaves dyed pale yellows on the wool. Almost all of my local gumtrees have dark green leaves, so I guess it’s lucky I’m not often wanting to get bright prints on wool!
Even more interesting, the leaves that dyed orange on wool consistently dyed brown on (iron-mordanted) cotton, while the leaves that dyed pale yellow on wool dyed blue or blue-green on cotton. I know that some green eucalyptus leaves do dye brilliant reds or oranges, but my local ones don’t seem to have the right chemical components for that.
I still have a lot that I want to investigate about different types of gumleaves and what factors influence which colour they dye, but this was certainly a useful experiment and a very good way to get to know more about my local leaves.
Interesting comparisons and lovely photographic documentation! I find that if I want to get hot red from eucalyptus then need 3 to 5 hours boiling in my pot.
Love the sharing of information you give. Looking forward to my own eco printing and creations 🙏
Is part of the difference between the wool and the cotton prints due to which side of the leaves faced the fabric?
No, eucalyptus leaves generally print the same on both sides. My understanding is that this is due to the climate in Australia. In cooler countries, the front of native leaves such as maple face towards the sun to get the maximum sunlight, so there is a distinct front and back to each leaf, which affects how they print. But here, our hot dry climate means that eucalyptus leaves have evolved to hang so that the thin edge of the leaf faces towards the sun, to help the leaf preserve moisture. So eucalyptus leaves often don’t have distinct fronts and backs, and even when they do I find both sides print similarly. There are a LOT of eucalyptus species though, so I can only speak for the ones I’ve tried so far. I have noticed that the closely related angophoras have more distinct fronts and backs, and this is reflected in the eco-print results.