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#007 Sour Grass Dye | Rebekah Cantor

May 19, 2015

Rebekah's creative energy is contagious and I love that her colorful spirit leaves room for what she's coined 'loose science'.  And that's exactly how she approaches life - making the best of whatever she's got to work with, always leaving plenty of room for spontaneous play. She applies loose science in the kitchen - I've seen her make gluten free cookies out of seemingly thin air - a bit of rice she ground up, some shredded coconut, an egg, some sugar, I don't even know, it was a blur. There is beauty in the singularity of her work and she applies it in her natural dye technique as well.

Oxalis stricta, commonly known as sour grass, is rampant in northern California in the early spring. I remember it fondly as one of maybe two edible plants I knew about growing up in San Francisco. It was like a magic trick with visitors - try this! And then watch their face twist up - it's very sour in flavor, hence the name. Growing up, I didn't know it could also be used as a natural dye. But it turns out, the electric yellow dye it makes matches the brilliant yellow of Oxalis flowers that seem to hold the color of the sun in their petals.

Harvest & Dye

Fabric Prep
The night before you plan on dying, soak your fabrics in water overnight.

Ingredients
A few yards of organza silk
Large basket of sour grass
1/2 cup Alum Salt
1 tbsp. Cream of Tartar

Method
Boil a lobster pot of water on an outdoor range. It's not good to do this inside, it gets very hot and steamy and it's not good to breathe in the steam once the Alum Salt and Cream of Tartar go in.
Add sour grass to the pot and let it brew, covered on a low flame for at least 20 minutes.
Add Alum Salt and Cream of Tartar, give a stir and see the hue brighten.
Continue to cook the dye until you get the color you want. Strain out the plant matter. 
Ring out your soaked fabrics and place them into the dye pot.
Leave them for at least an hour or until they've reached the color you want, could let them sit overnight. 
Rinse fabric with soap and water and hang to dry.

← #008 Tule Basketweaving | Dino Labiste#006 Douglas Fir Tip Sun Tea | Leaves & Flowers →

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Meant to take a better pic of this giant puffball I saw in a field in Vermont last week. It was huge! So cool
Meant to take a better pic of this giant puffball I saw in a field in Vermont last week. It was huge! So cool
Morels!
Morels!
Sea beans! These babies got tossed into a beachside clambake yesterday with fresh foraged western littlenecks, lemons, garlic and parsley. @xoxoscar @intotheoceanwego @foodexit
Sea beans! These babies got tossed into a beachside clambake yesterday with fresh foraged western littlenecks, lemons, garlic and parsley. @xoxoscar @intotheoceanwego @foodexit
Prickly pears outside my door!
Prickly pears outside my door!
  • August 2015
    • Aug 12, 2015 #008 Tule Basketweaving | Dino Labiste Aug 12, 2015
  • May 2015
    • May 19, 2015 #007 Sour Grass Dye | Rebekah Cantor May 19, 2015
    • May 6, 2015 #006 Douglas Fir Tip Sun Tea | Leaves & Flowers May 6, 2015
  • April 2015
    • Apr 21, 2015 #005 Spring Plum Leaf Dye | Deepa Preeti Natarajan Apr 21, 2015
    • Apr 14, 2015 #004 Elderflower Cordial | Halley Roberts Apr 14, 2015
    • Apr 7, 2015 #003 Wild Greens | Brett Poirier Apr 7, 2015
  • March 2015
    • Mar 31, 2015 #002 Medicinal Tincture - Pedicularis Densiflora | Tanya Stiller Mar 31, 2015
    • Mar 12, 2015 #001 Western Littleneck Clams | Hank Shaw Mar 12, 2015
  • Unfarmed Project
    Dino Labiste weaves adventure into tule baskets. Link in prof… https://t.co/YIybRMB0JC
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