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Prep

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Before I could start dying my fabric, I had to decide what natural dye I wanted to use and what kind of design I wanted to try. After researching what natural dyes different fruits and vegetables give off, I decided to go with blackberries. I researched that I would need two parts water for every part of blackberries. After deciding on my dye, I had to decide on a design. I had already created a pinterest board of different Shibori style methods and how to create them. I ended up using rubber bands to create a "tie-dye" effect.
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Creating My Design

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I used around 25 rubber bands to compress my fabric so the dye wouldn't reach that specific area. I started by using a section towards the middle to make the biggest circle. I put my finger where I wanted the center of the circle to be and starting wrapping a rubber band at the tip of my finger. After that, I took out my finger to continue wrapping the rubber bands further down until I was done with each section. I made about six of these patterns. This took about 10 minutes.
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Preparing The Dye Pot

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Fill up your pot until it's about half way full. Pour in your food item, which in my case was blackberries. One of my group members got two packages of blackberries (about 3 cups) to mix in with the water. Let the water heat on hot for about 30 minutes. During those 30 minutes, stir your food and squish the food if that is how the color will release. Turn the heat off and let the water cool for a minute. Then, strain the water to get the fruit out.
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Dying (The Exciting Part)

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Before you can submerge your fabric into the dye pot, you need to wet your fabric so it will absorb the dye better. Make sure your fabric is completely submerged so it doesn't come out spotty. Let it heat in the pot for at least 20 minutes, stirring frequently. After 20 minutes, turn the heat off and let it sit overnight. The fabric would need to sit for hours to let the fabric actually absorb the dye, so one of my group members offered to stay after school to check on the fabric.
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Post Dying

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Several hours later, I took my fabric out and rinsed it thoroughly as I took my rubber bands off. After all the rubber bands were out, I rinsed my fabric again to make sure I didn't leave any residue from the blackberries. I let my fabric dry for a few days until I was able to iron it. This took about 10 minutes.
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Finishing Touches

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After my fabric was ironed, I sewed a one inch casing to fit a wooden stick for my tapestry to hang. Once I was done with this, I was completely done with my tapestry. This took about 45 minutes. Most of the time was spent ironing.
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Materials

Tapestry: one 30" x 22" piece of cotton fabric Rubber bands: around 25 Blackberries: two packages (around 3 cups) Water: one and a half/two gallons Pot: one three gallon pot and top provided by Mrs.Churillo Hot plate: one provided by Mrs. Churillo Spoon: one provided by Mrs. Churillo Wooden Stick for Casing: one provided by Mrs. Churillo
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