How we work
The ancient process of dyeing natural fibres with botanical dyes is (in our opinion!) a fascinating one, although a rather long one which relies heavily on trial and error - there are many factors which can alter the colours produced drastically, such as the pH of the water, the time of year the dye-stuff is harvested. We moved studios by a few miles in 2021 and had to alter our recipes slightly to account for the change in the water!
Firstly we cut our rolls of silk into manageable-sized pieces. These are then treated with a mordant which helps the natural dyes to fix. The silk is then ready for dyeing. We only work in small batches to ensure the fabric absorbs the dyes evenly, this is why you may find some slight colour variation between batches. Although we will always aim to send out ribbons from the same batch within one order for consistency.
We then need to make the natural plant dye. This process varies depending on which dye we are making but will generally involve us foraging for the dye plant (berries, leaves, flowers, roots, bark etc), these are often then submerged in water and heated gently, some botanical dyes also need to soak for several days to release the dye. We sieve the mix to remove any bits, then we strain through a muslin cloth to remove smaller plant fibres. The dye is then ready to be used, if we have more than needed we box up the left over liquid and freeze for use at a later date. This stage can sometimes take 3 or 4 days to achieve the colour we are hoping for.
The dyeing of the silk involves submerging 2 or 3 small pieces into the dye vat with our chosen dye solution which we then gently heat. Some colours absorb almost immediately, others can take several days. At this stage, if needed, we can also alter the colour of the silk by changing the pH of the water or adding an modifier.
Once we are happy the correct colour has been achieved we rinse the silk, allow it to dry then iron (this is Anne’s job - she is particularly skilled at ironing silk!) It is then moved over to the cutting table where Lydia will use our specially designed cutting method to create perfectly cut ribbons. We also offer some hand torn ribbons for those who prefer the frayed edge look. Hand-torn velvet ribbons are our least favourite to make as they create so much fluff around the studio but we both agree it’s worth the extra cleaning as they are so pretty.
Once cut, the ribbons are hung up ready to be rolled on our hand-made wooden pegs and labelled. They are then ready for packaging up and sending to our wonderful customers all over the world.