Rust and Tea

I'm having great fun at the moment experimenting with rust and tea on fabric.

I love the way that the rust turns black when soaked in strong tea.

The other side of this was once painted with acrylic paint. It has led to an interesting blotchy effect on this side as the raw fabric absorbs the rust and tea more effectively.

When the fabric is tied around  beads or pleated with pegs etc. then dipped in tea, it produces interesting patterns and textures.

 

 This is an impression made from an old fire hood.

Impressions made from nails and a rusty spring.

Having washed the fabric I place it in a mixture of half water and half vinegar. I also spray the iron with the same liquid. The impression made differs according to whether the fabric is pressed onto the iron or if the object is laid on the cloth. It seems to depend on how much air, therefore oxygen, reaches the point of contact.

If the process is taking a long time, or when the weather is very dry, it is necessary to keep spraying the fabric until the rust has taken full effect. I must admit that as time goes on I get more haphazard and start to worry less about measuring quantities, so the effects might be partly due to the levels of water or vinegar.

Now I need to start thinking about what to do with my growing stash of rusted fabric.