Discover the art of leaf pounding

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Equipment

Smooth cotton fabric

Large bowl

Unsweetened soya milk

Leaves and flowers

Masking tape

Wooden chopping board

Hammer

Iron and ironing board

Black textile marker

This demonstration is taken from Barbora Kurcova's new book from Search Press, 52 Nature Craft Projects - Inspiration for Every Week of the Year.

Order your copy here.

LEAF POUNDING

Dyeing textiles with pigments from nature is one of the oldest fabric colouring techniques. However, not everyone has the space and time to do this at home. Leaf or flower pounding is another way to get the natural pigments into the fabric.

You can create beautiful home textiles, or even decorate T-shirts or tote bags. It is a great way to add colour to older textiles, or to reuse an item that has been stained beyond repair.

PRE-TREAT YOUR FABRIC

You need to pre-treat the fabric, so it will absorb the plant pigments. Whether the fabric is new or old, wash it in the washing machine on a long cycle. Do not use laundry detergent or fabric softener, as you want to wash out as many chemicals as possible. Once that is done, soak the fabric in a large bowl in a solution of one part unsweetened soya milk and three parts water. Let soak overnight, and then air-dry.

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CREATE YOUR DESIGN

Place the leaves and flowers face down on the fabric in lines or mandalas, or in a random pattern. Use strips of masking tape to stick all the pieces to the fabric.

HAMMERING

Gently lift the fabric and place it on top of the chopping board, with the taped leaves and flowers facing down.

Carefully hammer over all the leaves and flowers to release their juices (and the pigments) into the fabric.

Top Tip

Try hammering different types of leaves on to a piece of test fabric first, as not every leaf prints in the same way – usually, the softer the leaf, the easier it is to hammer the pigment out.

REMOVING THE FOLIAGE

Let the pigments dry and set overnight, then peel off all the pieces of tape. Any odd bits of foliage or flowers that stick to the fabric can be easily scraped off with a fingernail.

FINAL STAGES

Once you have removed all the tape, iron over the surface without steam to set the pigments into the fabric. I decided to give the whole piece a slightly more contemporary feel – and make it look just like a nature print – by drawing an outline around each leaf and flower with a black textile marker. Don’t worry about drawing precise lines, as the design will look really artistic and cool if you simply outline the shapes and follow your imagination.