Flower pounding is one form of eco-printing that is just so much fun! It’s the perfect way to preserve the beauty and colour of a summer garden, and it is such an interesting art form to try. Here’s how you can try imprinting flowers onto fabric for some colourful and unique designs.
Flower pounding, plant bashing, eco printing. This art form has many different names. Its origin can be traced back to Japan, where it is known as Tataki-zomé (literally translated as hammering dye).
Eco-printing is rising in popularity, where people you use the marks and imprints of flowers and leaves to make patterns on fabric and paper. While there are many forms of eco-printing, such as bundling fabric and placing it in a steam bath, I prefer flower pounding!
This year, I went to the Northwest Flower and Garden Show and did a whole session on eco-printing. In my first book, Garden Made, I talked all about flower pounding. I used to also do it while volunteering as a Master Gardener with children. For them, we would print on cards or fabric and give them rocks to pound the flowers.
Flower pounding has evolved much since as it has grown in popularity, and so has my style!
While it may seem as simple as pounding flowers into the fabric, there’s actually quite a bit of preparation that goes into the fabric to get it to stick.
Don’t worry, I’m going to break down everything for you!
Does Eco-Printing Actually Work?
I’ve done a bunch of courses on how to prepare fabric properly, and it’s definitely a process. One thing I will say is that I’m not a textile artist. This tutorial is great for beginners. If you really want to get into it, I would definitely follow a textile artist for more information (I really like Maiwa as a resource!)
The key to getting the design to stick is how you treat your fabric beforehand. When I was doing my presentation at the Northwest Flower and Garden Show, I didn’t want to focus on the fabric preparation component of it. I wanted to focus on the design and artistry instead.
I came in with the fabric prepared and set up at the DIY stage. What I didn’t anticipate was that nearly 800 people would show up to see me bang some flowers. It was completely insane!
So to demonstrate it, I set up a community cloth. I got one big tablecloth and invited everybody up to come and try their hand at printing themselves. It turned into a really fun afternoon.
Which Flowers to Use in Eco-Printing
Certain flowers and colours will work really well for printing. Here are a few that I’ve tried myself and had success with.
Your best bet is to just try all kinds of different flowers. Some will be gushy and have lots of pigment, which means they can look more like splatters. Others will hold their shape, while others will change colour quite a bit.
Test the flowers on a piece of test fabric first so you know what to expect. The flowers will also look different depending on the type of fabric you use.
Choose Your Fabric
For fabric, you’ll want to use something that is plant-based (as opposed to animal or synthetic). This can include fibres like cotton, linen, ramie, and hemp.
The thinner the fabric, the more pigment from the flowers will bleed. You’ll get less clean or straight lines of the flowers. So if you use something like muslin, it will bleed.
Think about the tightness of the weave. Something like cotton is a good middle ground. It gets a bit of that watercolour effect but still holds together well.
Meanwhile, if you go for something thicker and with a tight weave, like a canvas, it won’t bleed much at all. But on the other hand, it takes a lot of pigment to transfer into it.
You can try eco-printing on all kinds of natural fabrics with this in mind. You can make tote bags, napkins, scarves, bandanas, and all kinds of clothing.
For me, I decided to make a community cloth. I brought out a big table cloth at the show, and gave everybody all kinds of flowers. Everybody started pounding different flowers and making their own designs.
It’s definitely not perfection, but it looked quite beautiful. I took it home and filled in some more spots, like adding a lily. I even invited some friends to give it a try at my house!
How to Prepare Your Fabric
Before you can begin eco printing, you need to prepare the fabric. You’ll need to scour the fabric, which removes impurities such as oils, waxes, dirt, and more.
These impurities won’t go away with regular washing, so it’s really important to scour your fabric first. This allows the fabric to accept and hold onto the dye so it doesn’t fade—and you can wash your fabric afterward!
Step 1: Scour Your Fabric
Fill a large pot with water, enough to cover the fabric but not crowd it. For every 1 lb of fabric (450 g), add 2 tsp of synthrapol and 4 tsp of soda ash.
Let the mixture simmer for about 1 hour. You’ll notice that the water will turn yellow-brown. This is all the impurities coming out!
Remove from heat and let the fibre cool completely. Then rinse in warm water. Don’t let dry because there’s more to do!
Note: some fabrics may be marked as PFD (prepared for dying). They might not need to be scoured or only require a light scour instead.
Step 2: Tannin
Plant fibres will also require a tannin to be added to assist with the dye process. Tannins may be clear or you can use them to add some colour to the fibre. I went for a clean tannin, so I used gallnut ground. You can also use tara for a clear tannin.
For a yellow hue, you can use myrobalan, pomegranate, black oak, or fustic. For a red-brown hue, try mimosa, quebracho, tea leaves, or cutch.
You generally want 10% WOF for tannins. To measure this, you’ll need to know how heavy your fabric is. For example, 1 lb of fabric weighs 454 grams. 10% of 454 grams is 45 grams, which is how much tannin you will need for your fabric. You’ll have to do some math!
Fill the pot again with hot water, enough to cover the fabric. Add your tannin of choice and stir. Add in your scoured and wet fabric.
Let soak for another 1-2 hours. Simply cover it with a lid—you do not need to “cook” the fabric. Let fibre cool, and then gently rinse.
Step 3: Mordant
Most plant fibres will also need a mordant. These are metallic salts that will help bond the dye to the fabric.
Alum (Potassium aluminum sulfate) is the most commonly used and accessible mordant available. You’ll want to use it at 12% WOF (about 1 tbsp per 100 grams of fibre).
Fill the pot again with enough water to cover the fabric. Stir the alum into the water. Add in your wet fabric that has been scoured and treated with tannin.
Let it soak for 1-2 hours. Cover with a lid so it stays warm. Now you can rinse it and let it dry for your eco-printing!
How to Design Your Eco-Printing
The part I had the most fun with was making a design. It can be easy for things to start looking like a mess. Once you start smashing flowers, it can be difficult to control their pigments.
In my talk, I suggested folks try flower pounding in two different design styles.
- Make a bouquet. Smash a bunch of flowers together in one area, resembling a bouquet. Then add some leaves to the flowers. Firm leaves work really well.
- Create a pattern. Use lots of different flowers to fill in the space in a pattern. This works well for a more abstract look in case pigments bleed.
How to Hammer Your Designs
After you’ve done all the prep, hammering is the easy part! Peel away any parts of the flower you might not want, such as stems or stamens. Gently lay a piece of parchment paper over your flowers or leaves to hold them in place.
Gently hammer your flowers into place. You can gently lift it to see if it needs any more hammering.
Once satisfied with your design, carefully peel away any petals or leaves. They’re going to be squishy!
You can use a fabric pen to add extra details or edges to your flowers if you like.
To set your design, iron the fabric completely before washing. Wash your fabric on a gentle cycle with cold water, and hang to dry.
My community tablecloth turned out so beautiful. And I love that I can still continue to add more flowers and pigment to it. It looks lovely as a setting for a little table to sit at in the middle of the garden and enjoy the space and beauty of flowers.
Let me know how this project goes for you in the comments below!
