This is a fine idea. The company make clothes dyed with left overs from grocers and florists. It would certainly be a good source of stuffs like onions and cabbage. The outfit is very high end, but it's a cool move. (Their pic)
On another thread we were just discussing the use of camellia petals for dyeing. Related to tea, and edible, the darker petals could work well. No possible toxic risk involved. A good use of flowers going over and fun for kids.
We were also discussing using daffodils. A slightly different ball game. I had a go today and the pigment comes out well. Some caveats, though:
It's recommended to use gloves when
preparing daffodil petals as the juice is dangerous if you are actively working with it.
If making up a dye batch, be sure to ventilate the room well or do it
outside. Jenny Dean recommends using fresh daffs for dyeing, not dried,
for strong colour. It can be a nice use of a cut bunch from the
supermarket too, once they have gone over.
Crocus
are not mentioned widely in dyeing books, but, as always, it's
interesting to experiment and see what happens. Also potentially toxic-ish, so best use gloves.
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I've probably said above that experimenting with making plant inks are easier than fabric dyes as you
only need a few handfuls of petals to create a good result. To harvest
enough to dye fabric well can be a big job. Nettles can be a good place
start if you have lots close by and can harvest in quantity.
I enjoy doing petal stencilling (See Pitter-Patter above). Get a stencil and some paper. Rub the
petal over the stencil onto the paper. Sometimes this works like a crayon. The thing is to time the
petal accurately. Often, if just picked, there is too much liquid in it
and you get a splodge. Leave it too long and there is not enough gunge
to make a mark. Worth
trying a few days after picking off the petals. With fresh-ish petals the problem is often the water content, so dry off the stencil between uses. Try on different grades of absorbant paper - you will get quite different results.
Amaryllis petals as a crayon over a stencil - the colour has held well for over a year. (Use gloves with this plant).
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For DC - I had a quick play and the daffodil worked well - old, cut, supermarket flowers going over. (I used gloves). You don't have to use a stencil, of course, you could just use it like a pen and make patterns.
Hammering, ironing and bundle dyeing would also be fun with these petals. These techniques are, again, good if you only have a few handfuls of petals as you can experiment on a small scale.
Thanks for highlighting the toxicity, @Fire in some of the petals. I am new to this thread, so will read back when I can. Have you used any spare petals for pot-pourri? I used to have bowls of rose petals which git very dusty and now think little cushions or 'lavender bag' type things work better. Can't wait to try getting creative with these plant inks....💫
Sorry to witness the demise of the forum. 😥😥😥😡😡😡I am Spartacus
One thing I do for scent is to dry herbs like rosemary and burn them (I prefer it to sage). I'm not really into pot-pourri but I do have large (pretty) jars of petals around the kitchen and my fridge is half full of odd jars. Some books and sites say that freezing fresh foliage or petals can work very well.
Beth Chatto adored PP. She writes about it a lot. She regarded it as an art - hard to master. This is from Beth Chatto's Garden Notebook
Thanks for highlighting the toxicity, @Fire in some of the petals.
It's always good to quickly look up the toxicity levels of a plant you are pondering to mess around with, just in case. (Mental note to self). At least, if you poison yourself, you will know why you got ill.
Umbellifers are one group to take extra care with and check on.
Trying again today with stencils and blooms that are out by me at the moment. Again many thanks to @pitter-patter for the idea.
Hellebore petals worked quite well, although the colour today was not strong. It is right off the plant, so the petal has high water content. I used this petal like a sponge - dabbing it on - rather than grating against the stencil. The outline is less sploggy that way. Using today's picked petals tomorrow or at the weekend would give a different result.
Iris reticulata seemed less squishy. Good colour.
Using simple plastic stencils that should last for many years, if washed carefully.
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Hammering, ironing and bundle dyeing would also be fun with these petals. These techniques are, again, good if you only have a few handfuls of petals as you can experiment on a small scale.