Mind mapping

What is eco resist print

There are so many intricate foliage that has very less tannin for them to be used in eco printing. But such leaves and flowers as a resist they work great since they act as ‘blocks’ to stop all the fabric from changing colour; thus making the shapes or silhouettes on the target fabric. Tests with Myrobalan have shown how strong the attraction of the iron is to the Myrobalan. Whenever these components are mixed together it creates a nice purplish-grey. The depth does depend on the strength of both the Myrobalan and the iron. Myrobalan powder is made from the ground nuts of the Terminalia chebula tree. It also goes by the name of Harda Powder. It is believed to have some interesting healing properties in traditional Indian medicine and thus contains no harmful chemicals.It has high tannin content almsot 12% of Chebulinic acid and 2% of Chebugalic acid thus they can also be used as mordants while natural dyeing.

Myrobalan Dyed Fabric Myrobalan Powder

Explaining the sandwiching

The target fabric for resist eco printed is a peice of cloth dyed in myrobalan solotion. over which the leaves are placed according to your design. A ‘blanket’ is the same thing as a carrier cloth. This is usually a piece of cotton or other absorbent fabric, that is put on top of the fabric you want to print. We will call that the target piece. The most common mordant for a blanket is ferrous sulfate, we call this an iron blanket. This blanket is made by soaking a fabric the same size as of the target peice in ferrous sulphate solution. As the figure explains, the blanket is placed over the leaves and these three layers are sandwiched between two plastic sheets to prevent ghosting or staining.

important Terms

The Iron Blanket

An iron blanket is an extra piece of fabric (even paper towels) that is soaked in the rusty iron water and then wrung out. This layer will be put above the leaves to bring the iron to the fabric in a different way. In this method the leaves are not dipped in iron water, they are used as is (or wetted if dried) or when we are using the reaction of tannins and ferrous sulphate for resist eco printng.

The Barrier Layer

To keep the colours from bleeding through the layers definitely use a barrier layer. That can be plastic wrap (Like Saran wrap) or strips of plastic drop sheets (reusable).

Carrier Blanket

Carrier blankets brings another element to the mix. Most often it would bring a natural dye (maybe even another dye) or a tannin to the print fabric. This carrier piece of fabric is not meant to permanently hold whatever it’s adding, but to transfer it. I often like to use an old cotton flannel sheet as the carrier blankets since they are quite absorbent and have already lost their lint.

Tips and tricks

✴ Dry the leaves or flowers to store for later use ✴ Use a barrier like plastic sheets, foil, etc. to prevent ghosting ✴Making sure the bundles are tied really tight is important. The tighter the better ✴ Make sure to wring the fabric properly. The amount of wetness is also a possible problem in Eco Printing. If there is a lot of water it can flow and leak through causing blurs. ✴ While placing the leaf make sure the botton side is in conract with the fabric. The cells on the bottom vein side of the leaf have thinner walls so they print easier. ✴Don’t be fooled by fancy colours or shapes; not all leaves print well. It is not the colour on the leaf but the tannin that it holds. ✴ Adding iron to the priting process will darken or make the colours duller. ✴Protein fabrics print best while eco printing. ✴Vinegar is not a mordant.