Eucalyptus Camaldulensis
Red gums are a wonderful part of the Australian experience. Dotted around South Perth, they were an easy pick for a eucalypt dye source. I just walked around and picked up a bunch of barks, looking out for deep red sheets. I found some beautiful pieces that I have in my studio now because I couldn't bare to drain the colour from them.
I put the barks in a pot of water and brought it to boil, added the mordanted linen and then left it to simmer for around 2 hours. I turned the heat off and left her over night, and transferred the dye bath into a jar in the morning once it was cool. Again I left the jar in the sun for about 3 days just to be sure the colour soaked in as much as possible.
Pre-wash the fabric was a beautiful pinkish rust. Post-wash I was stoked to find the colour didn't change! Sometimes 30ºC can make a devastatingly huge difference.