Nuno Felt and Solar Dye

My washing line shows projects that I have had on a back burner for quite a while now. To the left is a solar dyed silk that I created in the Spring before moving house. To the right you can see a large nuno felt that I have made with tussah silk and Blue Faced Leicester curls detail.

I have really liked the textured detail that can be created when using curls in nuno felt and thought that it would be a great effect for a net curtain/blind for a window.

I live in a traditional cottage with low ceilings and big black beams. The windows are cut out of 3ft thick stone walls so not much natural light gets through. Even if it did, the view onto the street is not so attractive and the weather to come will be wet and windy.

I thought plain nuno blinds would offer a warm comforting feel to the room, while still allowing natural light to diffuse into the room. I like both the curly and the silk side so this fabric offers a versatility to suit different looks and moods.

Initially I had planned to make the blinds out of the solar dyed silks, but I late felt that the patterns would make the room feel too crowded (it is a very small room).

Back in the spring my camellia tree blessed me with so many flowers. The picture to the left shows the colour the camellia's gave. It was very surprising to see such a deep purple come out of these red/pink flowers. The colour was initially much deeper than this, a rich violet, but it degraded so quickly. I left the fibres in too long. Next Spring, I intend to put the fibres and silks into the dye solution and take them out within ten minutes in order to capture this wonderful colour. I won't know how fast the colour will be, but even if I only have it for a short while before it fades I will be one very happy bunny.

The second picture shows the wet petal pulp remains from the dye pot being laid out onto silk before being rolled into a bundle, popped in a jar and left for a month to solar dye on the window sill. I much prefer this method of solar dyeing bundles to the filling the jar with water. I find the watery solution grows mouldy very quickly and gives a terrible smell and the results aren't as good as this. But I have seen other artists achieve wonderful things with their wet solar dye bundles so I will give it another go soon.

The picture to the left above shows the rust and purple tones of the silk and the picture to the right hand side shows the solar dyed silk being held in front of the white nuno to give a better idea of how the colours will mute if nuno felted. I think I will make something with double layers of silk over lapping for contrast. Watch this space :)