Cashmere Scarf Eco-print - 'Elderberry'

Elder grows everywhere around the village where I live . It is a wild and spontaneous shrub . I love it in every season , its sweet smelling flowers in the late spring and its dark ,almost black , berries in the late summer.  I picked sprigs of leaves and berries for this piece at the end of August and used them pressed but still fresh to print this fabulous cashmere scarf .

I knit and wash the scarf previously . Hand loom knitted on my 8 gauge machine with 1 end of pure cashmere yarn in a single jersey stitch for that light all-season weight . I  finished the piece with 4 hand wrapped tassels attached to each of the four corners . This , as it is , is my Kit scarf and you can find it on a separate product page . But it is also one of the base scarves I use for my botanic prints.

The unique pattern and colour is created by the mordant I use and the way I place the leaves ,stems and berries together with the folding ( for mirror repeating ) before I roll & tye the entire scarf up into 'a bundle' I then steam the 'bundle' for a hour !! Leave it to rest & cool and then open it and leave it to oxidise for a couple of days . Its a process that recquires patience ! 

Each piece I print is one off , entirely unique , the pattern & colour can not be replicated , the flowers, berries and leaves from the same plant can be used but the pattern will always be different , the result a beautiful 'surprise'. This is the reason why I do not make these scarves to order , but sell them only once they are finished  .

These scarves are truly special , and to buy one is to appreciate the astonishing , beauty of the patterns in nature and the natural technique used to print , knowing that no-one has a scarf quite like yours !