TerraLenta Dye Works

18/08/2025

Planning to merge two things I love: botanical printing on thick leather to make bags.
After a few experiments, I decided on geraniums and Herb Robert from my garden. Iron and alum, steamed. Tulip tree next 🙂

30/06/2025

Woad is extremely easy to grow in the UK. This year I ended up just collecting the seeds (of which there were LOADS!, not the leaves). Both madder and woad are prolific self-seeders. Bees🐝 love them 😍 Please don't think you have to be an expert gardener to grow woad!

29/06/2025

I had a friend here last Saturday for some wool dyeing (spun and before spinning). The following day, she sent me a photo after tidying up the hanks. As always, the colours are so beautiful😍
No mordants used, just indigo and myrobalan overdyed with indigo. The darker wool is gorgeous grey Gotland overdyed with indigo.

23/09/2024

And so almost two years go by without posting anything! The only thing I did online was change the name of the page. I will explain why TerraLenta later 🙂

Anyway, Autumn, my favourite season, is here in the UK. I have lots of oak trees nearby and have harvested quite a few acorns (galls were far fewer). Now planning to extract the tannins. Will keep you up to date with the process and results.

29/12/2022

2022 was a hectic year for me, plans and circumstances have changed so much it was hard to follow all the twists and turns😄
It has given me the opportunity to shake off a lot of cobwebs, though. Now, back to dyeing!

I want to thank all those who follow this page in spite of how irregularly I post and wish them the most wonderful, happy and creative New Year!

I also want to share one of my best Christmas presents, a bag of onion skins donated by the fabulous Streetly Balti restaurant, my local Indian restaurant. (The food is brilliant too - if you are near Sutton Coldfield UK, it is definitely worth a visit 😋)

15/05/2022

When you go for a walk and notice, among the new leaves, things you didn't know were there, such as an oak coming through a hedge of conifers, liquidambar, horse chestnut... And also wonder how the leaves of a thistle would work as a resist 😁 If you go for a walk near your home, what do you notice?

09/05/2022

Which natural dyes do we think were used? 😍😍😍 (yes - date is 1522).

The exquisitely preserved green damask dress in Burgundian style worn by Mary of Habsburg on her marriage to Louis II of Hungary in 1522, one of few dresses to survive from that century - Hungarian National Museum

30/04/2022

Carpet | late 16th–early 17th century | Iran, probably Kashan.
This rug was made well before chemical dyes were available. These are the beautiful colours of natural dyes, mostly plants 😍 Have a great weekend everybody!

Conservators and conservation scientists made many exciting and interesting discoveries as they and the curators re-examined the Museum’s collection of Islamic art. “Making the Invisible Visible” presents some of their most interesting discoveries. http://met.org/ZPEGun

Carpet | late 16th–early 17th century | Iran, probably Kashan

24/04/2022

During a walk in Wales, UK, I saw an alien-looking plant in the woods, like a giant rhubarb. It was identified as a Gunnera Tinctoria. Now, you know what "Tinctoria" means...😄 According to this link, the root is extremely rich in tannin and used as a dye. The plant is common in Chile, a country with a huge knowledge in natural dyes. I learn something new almost everyday! Has anybody used it?

http://temperate.theferns.info/plant/Gunnera+tinctoria

19/04/2022

Sometimes I feel like being totally local - using only leaves around me and homemade mordants. I also make bags and unbleached cotton is good for my experiments, as I can always use the result as a lining😄 I printed these last year on cotton using homemade iron and alum water, and local walnut, cotinus and geranium leaves. Already made one bag using one of these🙂