Ice Dyeing with Frozen Flowers — Dyed of Natural Causes

The ice dye technique is super simple and delivers dreamy results. You can use frozen flowers, crushed extracts, or powdered natural pigments. This works best on silk fabric, but you can also achieve interesting effects on cotton it just takes more dye and steaming. As with all natural dyes, you should scour and mordant your fabric first so that color is long lasting and doesn’t fade. These processes are best outlined on the Botanical Colors website.

You will need some supplies to work with natural dyes. You do not want to use the same kitchen supplies that you cook with since some natural materials, like iron, while natural are not non toxic and safe for consumption. I have found a lot of my pots and bowls for dyeing at thrift shops and second hand stores. You can also make your own and repurpose plastic containers into colanders and bowls.

Ice dye materials for natural dyes, pigments, and flowers

Materials:
Stainless Steel Colander
Mordanted Silk Fabric or Clothing
Frozen Flowers (roses, scabiosa, marigolds, and cosmos work well)
Crushed raw extracts or natural pigments (crushed cochineal, powdered extracts)
Color modifiers like iron & lemon juice
Ice (or snow)

Instructions:
1. Fold and layer the dry silk fabric in the colander over a bucket or pot. The more folds and twists in the fabric the better. You can catch the runoff from the ice and dyes and use this to dye as well.
2. Layer frozen flowers, ice, and pigments over the fabric. Push some of the flowers down into the fabric folds. It is best to layer the ingredients into the fabric so that the extracts are touching more surface area of the fabric.
3. Layer ice into the folds and add a layer covering the top. Use the color modifiers like lemon juice and iron on top to create interesting variants in the color. Keep in mind these modifiers are strong, especially iron, so use sparingly.
4. Now wait for the ice to melt completely. No touching or messing with the fabric. Let nature run its course!
5. Once the ice has melted, you can steam the fabric to really set the dyes. Put the colander over a pot of simmering water and let the steam heat the fabric for about 30 mins. You can move around the extracts and layer them in different areas to get more coverage as you steam. Keep in mind the fabric will be hot so use tongs if you move things around while the fabric is steaming.
6. The amount you steam and the time before you rinse can affect how much the dye spreads. The more saturated the fabric is, the more the dye will soak into the fabric. You can reuse the flowers and extracts again if you gently shake them into a container. You can redye the same piece again if you want more coverage, or use this for a lighter layer on your next piece. You can also use the runoff you collected to immersion dye the piece and add more color.
7. Get creative with the ways to soak all of the colors from your ingredients. The natural pigments have so much to give and there are so many ways to use them. Share your flower magic with others and tag @dyedofnaturalcauses!