In this post I am writing about colouring a felted vest with plants. You can find out more about felting the vest in the following blog post: Felted vest which can be worn in four different ways.
For felting this vest I used only natural materials, such as pre-felt, different fibers, 21 mic merino wool, and Gotland sheep locks.
For colouring you will need alum stone, rusted bolts and chains, onion peels, a stone, salt, a thermometer, gloves, a scale and a container to colour the fabric in.
Firstly, I made the fabric wet and let it soak in the alum stone solution for one hour to get the excess air out of the material. Then I placed the items I wanted to use to colour the fabric, such as onion peels and rusty bolts and chains, on one half of the fabric. I covered this half of the fabric with the empty second half, rolled the fabric up tightly and tied it together in a roll.
I added water into the pot so that it would cover the fabric and heated it up to 60°C. Then I dissolved 12 grams of alum stone in a small amount of water, added 2 tablespoons of sea salt and poured the solution into the pot. For keeping the fabric under the water I placed a stone on it. After that I heated the fabric to 70°C and then let it cool down slowly. On the next day, I rinsed the fabric and let it dry.
When finishing with the vest, I straightened the edges by stretching them while steaming. After that, you can decorate the vest as you wish.
The felted vest is made from pure natural wool and coloured with natural materials. The vest keeps you warm and protects you from the cold weather.
