Not Purple Ino Green

Scabiosa dress, Poppy tabard, Scabiosa vs Iris skirt and Plant Travel shirt - project for IF Soho New York.

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I gathered a whole box of Purple Scabiosa a year before planning to dye with those flowers. I expected some change of color from pink to sth else after drying and oxidation but did not expect such vivid green, grass green with all the imperfections of hand dyeing. The whole box of little flower heads was enough only to dye couple of silk satin meters - just one dress and a skirt.

Another shade of green, sea green, was the result of Iris infusion dip. I was collecting every monumental Iris flower appearing slowly almost each day in the garden. The color was perfect for crepe silk so the comparison of both kinds of silk became a nice theme.

Then, poppies started to pop out in every corner of the garden and I was lost in admiring them too. All of a sudden, I had another corresponding Spring theme - poppy print - purplish, dark blueish round delicacies on white background. Poppy flower disappears in the afternoon, being replaced by another flower the next day. One has to be pretty fast to gather them being very careful and gentle, their petals are so fragile and thin. 

Spring offers lots of other little herbs growing fast to bloom and produce seeds. While gathering flowers, one cannot resist to pick some beautiful stems with tiny leaves or flowers like bobbles. More prints appeared then. I called them Plant Travel because it reminded me of a board game with maps and destinations where each stop is a new adventure.

 

 Minimal waste patterns, notches rather than cutting out, draped than fitted, loose, airy, open, layered - those were the destinations and the process was quite an adventure.