Solar Dyeing Silk

This incredible heat wave we are having is great for solar natural dyeing! The concept is much like making sun tea. Along with water and a piece of silk, the jar on the right contains black hollyhocks, the center is onion skins and the left is coreopsis flowers. The heat from the sun pulls the color from the plant material and deposits it on the silk. I pre-treated the silks with alum and rinsed them before adding to the jars. It is so hot that I think we will have results very quickly.