Eco printing Sweet Gum Tree leaves

Sweet Gum Tree (Liquidambar styraciflua) Leaves
*medicinal properties
Date of Experiment Nov./Dec. 2014
Water used was tap water (Chlorine and Fluoride)
Area - Lancaster, Pa.

I have been extracting color from plant materials lately but haven't

tried printing on fabric. 

I found some Gum Tree leaves lying on the ground several weeks

ago in a small shopping center near my home. 

As they were a little crisp; I soaked them in warm water and a little

alum. The cotton fabric was also soaked in alum and rinsed.

I used two separate pieces instead of the normal way to lay


the leaves down and then folded over.

I also used egg yolk painted on the leaves and then placed

and rubbed gently down onto the fabric. ( I read this technique

on someone's blog) I then painted the egg mixture on the top side

of the leaves also and then lay the second piece of fabric on top.

The two pieces were then wrapped around a piece of oak limb as


tightly as I could get it.

I used cotton bamboo yarn to wrap and tie.

This piece was steamed over a large pot - covered for a couple


of hours.

Left overnight and then I opened it in the afternoon.


This is my first decent leaf print! Yay!

This is the top layer; the bottom layer's prints

are not that clear. I've done another experiement

of over dyeing with it. 

It's not perfect but it's a start and I'm learning a lot

in the process.

This is the bottom piece that I over dyed with red leaves,

whose name escapes me. In this liquid with the red

leaves I added cream of tar tar and some fresh lemon

juice which turned the color a light orange. 

The brown marks on the fabric is from the branch of

the oak that the fabric was wrapped around. 

I hung it up and let it cure for a couple of weeks

and then I washed it. There was some color loss but

nothing major. 

Again, I always google just to make sure that what plant

matter that I use is not toxic in any way. To my 

surprise I found out a lot of information about the

Sweet Gum Tree. 


*It is Medicinal (Always consult a professional herbalist)

Here are just a couple of pages that I found 

http://www.eattheweeds.com/sweet-gum-tree/

Sweet Gum tea was an herbal treatment for the

flu and the Cherokee made a tea out of the bark.

http://www.foragingtexas.com/2008/08/sweetgum.html

leaves can be mashed into a poultice for antibiotic

and sting-bite relief

The leaves contain natural antibiotics and were used

to pack wounds. Crush or masticate (chew) the leaves

some first to release these antibiotic compounds.

Some of the seeds inside the green, spikey pods contain

shikimic acid, which is used to make the active ingredient in

the flu-fighting medicine Tamiflu. Tea and alcohol extracts

of the crushed seed pods have been traditional flu

 medicines in several different cultures.

 Lots of Information out there and so much more

to learn!

Happy Foraging!