Hemp

In March and April I was asked to dye some hemp for Beatriz Constán. neither of us had used the material before and once we'd dyed it both of us were hooked.

It's a beautiful soft fibre which becomes softer and shinier as you handle it.

Being a cellulose I washed it, soaked it in tannin and then in alum before dyeing.

Below are photos of the results.

Left to right: dry hemp as we bought it, washed, soaked in tannin, soaked in alum.
Izquierda a derecha: seco, lavado, con tanino, con alumbre.

Top row: natural, 2 logwood samples, cochineal and logwood.
Front: Cochineal and madder
Arriba: natural, 2 ejemplos con palo de campecha, cochinilla
abajo: cochinilla y rubia

Eucalyptus and logwood (palo de campecha)

Cochineal, and overdyed on logwood and pomegranate.
Cochinilla, y teñido encima de palo de campecha y granada.

Camomile. On the right is how it looks when it comes out of the dye bath and then as you pull it and almost comb it the fibre becomes softer and silkier again.

The full range of colours. Toda la gama de colores al final.