This is a little cauldron I found lying around. My youngest daughter used it when she attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She isn't interested in potions any more. So I don't think she minds if I use it for rust dyeing. There must still be some power in it because I put a plain white silk satin scarf, some vinegar, iron filings and sumac juice in it and a magical transformation happened to the white scarf.

Click here to see the magical transformation

The Scarf, The Steel Wool Pad and The Copper Wire

Once upon a time there was a plain white silk scarf. It wanted to be a beautiful color with interesting patterning on it. It went down to the local tavern to drown itself in pity.

When the silk scarf was finally able to free itself from the copper wire it found the steel wool pad had turned to rust-dust.

Click here to continue the story

Monoprint Scarf 1

Here is the set up I used for this monoprinted scarf. The spiral is the spring from our old lawn mower. The grey color develops when salt and tannin are added to iron oxide. I smear what I lovingly call “sludge” over the spring. Sludge is any iron oxide particles that have already been combined with tannin. They are not a pure enough rust dust to give a golden color so I keep them in a container and smear them on cloth covered objects when I want to let Mother Nature surprise me.

Click here to see Monoprint Scarf 1

Monoprint Scarf 2

Here is another set up for monoprinting. This time using some heat register covers I bought at a flea market.  The heat registers are smeared with sludge. The center of the scarf was gathered up and lightly tapped with sludge. about a 1/3 cup of tannin was poured where ever there was sludge.

To see how this scarf turned out click here

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