How to Flower Pound

Right outside our kitchen is a little green patio area we call the Kitchen Garden. Among numerous fragrant herb species is a beautiful clematis plant with sprawling tendrils and an abundance of flowers. 

Last summer I discovered the wonders of flower pounding. Through some experimenting I found that clematis flowers work exceptionally well and retain their colorfastness on fabric. I have a tank top that I pounded with clematis flowers and although the flowers turned brown, their imprint has remained vibrant through it's many washing machine cycles.

So here's how to flower pound:

Step 1: Pick some beautiful flowers. 

Step 2: Lay a flower on a piece of cloth. 

Step 3: Fold the fabric over top (or lay another piece on top), place it on something hard and smooth, then pound the entirety of the flower. If you don't have a hard, smooth surface, try placing a towel on the sidewalk and hammering into the towel.

I made the mistake of pounding flowers on a brand new linen shirt I just finished sewing on a sidewalk without a towel underneath and the roughness of the cement put holes in the fabric! 

Step 4: Unfold and peel off the remains of the flower. 

Step 5: Hold up your cloth and stare at it for a few minutes. Then make another one! After waiting a few days, it should be safe to machine wash if you're putting it on a piece of clothing. 

I've found that it works for lots of other leaves and flowers, too! But I can't vouch for how they will all hold up in the wash. 

Here's a shirt I flower pounded with Clematis flowers from our Kitchen Garden. 

Making Paper with Newspaper and Fabric Scraps

Truth be told, I was hoping this would be a good way of using my fabric scraps... if I was making hundreds of sheets of paper every week it undoubtedly would be. Since I'm not, it isn't exactly the most effective way to use scraps. But that said, it's still a really neat process and the texture and color of the paper when mixed with newspaper is really beautiful. 

If you'd like to make your own, here is a rough guide: 

Supplies:

• Fabric scraps

• Newspaper

• Blender

• Two picture frames with a flat side

• Screen

• Lots of towels

• Iron

Directions: 

1. Trim fabric scraps very, very small. I used linen/rayon and cotton scraps.

2. Add a few scraps and water to the blender and blend them up until the scraps turn into a pulp consistency.

3. Tear up some newspapers, add them to the blender with more water and blend them together. (Note: I actually broke my parents' blender doing this because I had too much in there at one time. Do small batches!)

4. Pour the mixture into a large basin with lots of water.

5. Place a screen in between two picture frames and scoop out the pulp.

6. Place the paper face down on a towel and press out the excess water.

7. Iron dry and set under something large and heavy so the paper flattens.

8. Enjoy your new paper and try very hard to not be so attached to it that you never actually use it for anything.

At this point, you can either let the paper dry on the towel, or you can iron them dry. I prefer to iron them so they dry flatter and the imprint from the screen is smoothed out.