Course curriculum

  • 1

    Welcome to the course!

    • About me

    • How the course works

  • 2

    Materials

    • What you will need

    • What you will need in more detail

    • Fabric

    • scouring

    • Pots and poles

    • leaves

    • Making sure you have enough leaves for this course by preserving them

    • twine, iron, gloves

    • Barriers

    • barrier

    • testing fabric to see what it is

  • 3

    Some essential knowledge before you start

    • What is it in the leaves, that makes them print - or not

    • Leaves have two sides!

    • leaves

    • presoaking your fabric, and making your iron water

    • making your iron water

    • testing your water with pH strips

  • 4

    Bundling

    • Making bundle 1 ( sampler)

    • making bundle 1 your sampler

    • I suggest you steam bundle 1 before you go on and make the rest of your bundles

    • steaming your bundle

    • steaming your bundle

    • Revealing bundle 1

    • Bundle 1, the sampler, looking at our results ( note, this is a different bundle from the one you saw me making in the video!)

    • Bundle 2

    • making bundle 2 . your composition

    • wrapping with bandage - an alternative to string

    • Bundle 3 . Ghost prints

    • bundle 3 reveal

    • ghost print examples

    • Experimenting with different iron concentrations

    • Bundling several samples on one pole

    • Varying iron concentration

  • 5

    Washing your fabric

    • washing

    • washing your fabric - video

  • 6

    Understanding your results

    • Documenting your process

    • Every bundle you make is a learning opportunity

    • troubleshooting

    • spots and blobs

  • 7

    More techniques - mirror images and using blankets

    • Introduction

    • Folding your cloth. Making mirror images.

    • Revealing the mirror image piece

    • Using mirror images

    • OPTIONAL EXTRA More folding options

    • Carrier cloths or blankets

    • Iron blankets 1 the materials you need

    • Iron blankets 2 bundling

    • Iron blanket, reveal and explanation

    • OPTIONAL EXTRA - experiments with iron blankets

  • 8

    mordanting

    • Mordants - what are they and why do we use them?

    • Other chemicals, or 'assists'

    • Mordants and other chemicals - suppliers

    • weighing fabric before mordanting

    • mordanting part 1 - soaking your fabric

    • mordanting part 2 - basic mordanting method and mordanting silk

    • mordanting part 3 - discussion, and mordanting cellulose

    • Mordanting method and recipes - written notes

    • Experiments with mordanted cloth

    • Mordanted fabric- analysing our samples

    • another example - comparison between mordanted and unmordanted cloth

    • another example- comparison between thin silk and thick silk, both mordanted

    • bundling with a blanket on mordanted cloth

    • revealing the bundle on mordanted cloth with blanket

  • 9

    printing a long scarf

    • printing a scarf.

    • Rolling a scarf - simplest method

    • rolling a big scarf with an iron blanket

    • unbundling the big scarf

  • 10

    Next steps

    • What next ?

    • feedback

  • 11

    zoom sessions

    • Bonus content!

    • june zoom

    • may zoom

Instructor(s)

instructor

Caroline Nixon

Caroline has been ecoprinting for seven years, and teaching ecoprint for five. As a printer she is known for her clear crisp prints and vivid colours. As a teacher she is known for her well planned courses, detailed clear explanations, and learner centred style. She is focussed on giving each learner the skills and techniques they need to proceed on their ecoprinting journey with confidence. On Caroline's courses you will learn. A lot. But you will also have fun.

What students are saying

Feedback on the January Foundation skills course

Monika Thank you so very much Caroline Your course has filled in a lot of gaps and inspired me to continue learning about the plethora of plants around me. Your teachings filled my head with ideas and my heart with joy for the art of botanical printing! Susan Thankyou seems insufficient. Your ability to inspire, to teach and to encourage is wonderful. This course is undoubtedly the best thing I could have done to re-boot my little grey cells and re-set my skills. Thanks also to the engaging comments & discussions from & between the other participants. It’s been a fantastic learning opportunity. I love the feeling of being connected to so many beautiful people. susan This excellent class offers so much to both the beginning and more experienced student. I liked having a workbook to print and keep for future reference. I've already registered for another workshop and am looking forward to it! Pamela What a brilliant course, I’m so thankful I found it and grateful that you presented this wonderful opportunity to us all I’m just wondering when you sleep! You seem to be always available to us. I can only reiterate what the other participants have remarked and thank you so much.,I’ve learnt heaps and finally got to use an iron blanket successfully, plus print on cotton. I’m excited at the possibilities Monika Your course taught me everything I came to learn and more. It was so great to have the fb group, you were ever so present and seeing everyone's work and comments was so stimulating and informative. I walk away happy and inspired. Muchas gracias profe, a job well done! May you get all the rest you need Kiran Thank you Caroline for a very informative and educational course. Must for every beginner !! Last two years I have self taught about eco printing from reading and observing others. You have provided true ‘foundation’ where things make sense now ! The purpose behind doing certain techniques ! Amazing way how to roll scarf with a blanket to get less wrinkles to achieve spectacular outcomes !! Never knew or seen or heard before !!! So thanks again from bottom of my heart for your support, patience and understanding towards your pupils !!! Tatiana Thank you so much Caroline for the fantastic course. Can’t wait to start the next one Sharon I've been following the class and wanted to tell you that it's by far the best class I've seen. I love how you're interacting with everyone, helping each person learn from their results. Jacqui Thank you Caroline I learnt a lot about iron and how to get good prints. I have enjoyed the tips and tricks and hope to be able to do another course about colour and mordants with you soon. Thanks for being such a generous teacher. Evelyn Thank you SO much. You really are a wonderful teacher. So patient, so thorough, so kind. Wonderful 'food' for thought! Jacki Thank you ! Your explanations are very helpful and informative. Science and art! Kate Just watched the first new video and it's so leveling and reassuring at the same time. Love that this course is more than just pre-recorded content but reactive as well. Soo I am enjoying looking again at things I consider basic, but seeing them with a new eye with Caroline's great tuition. Lots to be learned!

Debbie Ecoprint with natural dyes

You are a super teacher, a lovely balance of kindness, compassion, knowledge and assertiveness when needed. I appreciated how organised and thoughtful you were and flexible and sensitive to our needs.You gave me so much help and confidence and I delighted with the things I made.

Maggie Claydon masterclass

Caroline's workshop was very well organised and well structured for a range of ecoprinting experience levels. she is a very clear, but patient, tutor, always mindful of where a student is on their specific learning journey. she builds up the knowledge to be learnt in a straightforward and sequential way and is always positively responsive to questions. Best of all, she is great fun! I would (and do) thoroughly recommend her to new and experienced eco printers alike.

Nicola. ecoprint with natural dyes

I loved your approach to printing, it made me feel that I was experimenting ,not just copying, from the beginning, even when I was following the steps for the samples. You squeezed in so much information and delivered it in a way that made good sense. I really feel that I have a much better understanding of the processes and look forward to experimenting more!

Claydon summer 2018, anonymous

Delivery of the course content was of a very high standard. Content knowledge was clearly delivered. Imparting knowledge effectively is not a given. Caroline succeeded immeasurably. Bravo! Claydon summer 2018

Claydon summer 2018, anonymous

Excellent quality teaching. The tutor was immersed in her craft and that rubbed off on me...I loved it!! Claydon summer 2018

Kiran Thank you Caroline for a very informative and educational course. Must for every beginner !! Last two years I have self taught about eco printing from reading and observing others. You have provided true ‘foundation’ where things make sense now ! The purpose behind doing certain techniques ! Amazing way how to roll scarf with a blanket to get less wrinkles to achieve spectacular outcomes !! Never knew or seen or heard before !!! So thanks again from bottom of my heart for your support, patience and understanding towards your pupils !!!

Loved the course and earned so much.

teresa

Loved the course and learned so much. Thanks for your time and expertise! Teresa

feedback from April foundation skills course

This was my first ever experience of printing on fabric and I was not disappointed. The step by step course was easy to follow and Caroline was so helpful all the way through. Having the FaceBook group to connect with other students was a wonderful support, and it was a joy to see how everyone was progressing and to share images and methods. Caroline commented and offered advice on every question asked and image shared. I began having no knowledge of eco printing on fabric, but ended by printing a wearable piece of work. I can highly recommend this course.