playing with hibiscus and soy

I few weeks back, I played with soy mordant and hibiscus for dyeing.  This is what came out of the dye pot.  The middle piece is cotton, then there is a cotton/silk piece, and a china silk piece.

This is how it came out of the washing machine.  The cotton is not white even though it looks so in the picture.  When it is placed next to white it comes out to the eye as the palest of blush or mauve.  There is a bit of grey tone in the pink.  

The middle is the cotton/silk piece.  I am working on a slip that has a lot of embroidery on it that I am using this for.  That gold tone comes out but there is just a bit of blush to it.  Again, it is all about how the light hits it.

The piece is the china silk.  Mauve, almost grey.  It is really pretty but not what I expected.

It is really hard to capture with a camera and then broadcast it on a computer screen.  I took half the china silk and added an iron mordant.  Basically, a bowl of rust water.

It is the prettiest silky grey green.  Hanging from the clothes line or a ribbon floating in the house is beautiful.  I am thinking about making a hand sewn chemise with it.  I am not sure there is enough here but I can add strips of more, or just dye more and make this into ribbons.  This is one of those I could keep all too myself.  But then I would fill my house.  

I am going to have to dye more soon.  There is a cabbage waiting.  I do like dyeing with things that can go into the compost and feed my garden.  There was broccoli from the garden last night.  And there is amaranth flowers I wish to pick to see how they dye.  Experimentation.  Pretty cool.