Black Natural dyeing

In the summer I went on a summer school with Jo Budd, we did flour paste resist. Its a resist that I really like but I haven't been able to get fine lines. This is a new sample, with ferrous sulphate and tannic acid. I'm very pleased with the fine lines, it really gives a sense of texture. Its almost as though the fabric was peeling and it looks multi layered. The fabric is cotton sateen which does give a lovely finish.

A few weeks ago I couldn't make a black on cotton so I've done a bit of research and this is the result. I'm really pleased. It is a very old recipe. I have used the same ingredients but instead of just mixing them together the fabric was steeped in ferrous sulphate for 6 hours and then in washing soda for 10 mins and tannic acid for half an hour. It was tied round a cocktail stick and then over dyed with indigo.