Selkie Scrunchie, Silk Velvet, Naturally Dyed with Cochineal

Description

The Irish legend of the Selkie has been one of my favorites for a long time. As I was dreaming up these silk velvet scrunchies, my imaginings kept bringing back to a mystical place with rich colors and textures. I still have a clear memory of the moment I bought my first scrunchie; I was maybe 14 when my hair was longest, past my shoulders and I was with my mom. I found a dark flowered corduroy large scrunchie that finally was a match for all my hair. Now that my hair is still just as wild and crazy, I’ve gravitated back to scrunchies and have a rekindled fondness for velvet ones.

I started with the whole cloth, scoured and mordanted. Cut up into the size needed for the individual pieces, and dyed each one by hand. Once dried, they were washed and rinsed and dried once more than sewn with both my machine and finished by hand. All dyes derived from natural dyes.

Dye Stuff: cochineal; a scale insect living as a parasite on the prickly pear cactus in Mexico. An ancient and prized pigment.