I have been admiring the work of Susanna Bauer (crochet and leaves) and decided to attempt my own variant.

I collected several types of leaves – all large and thick; avocado, karaka, Griselina and five-finger. Some of these were fresh, some already dried and fallen, some yellow, some green. I have been allowing all of the green and yellow leaves to dry hoping that they will retain some colour rather than turning brown.

First I took a fallen avocado leaf, so already brown. This was rather brittle, so I soaked it in water for a couple of hours, dried it off on a paper towel and began threading a warp (60/2 black cotton); I used the same method as the one I used on my tapestry weaving on paper. Once the warp was completed, I wove the weft (20/2 silk, bright blue). This worked well!

My second attempt was on a green karaka leaf and my third on a yellow karaka leaf. These also worked well and were much easier to weave as the leaves was still pliable. However, the yellow leaf was more fragile than the green, so I taped the back of it before threading the warp.

Once completed, I left the leaves to dry for a few days. I then mounted the leaves onto A5 sheets of handmade paper using double sided tape. The green and yellow leaf were still pliable, so they were able to be stuck down very flat. The dry, brown leaf is slightly curled and so hasn’t remained fully stuck down, but it is still well attached to the paper; it gives a lovely 3D effect.

To finish the pieces, I stuck them on black 300gsm card using double sided tape.

The green and yellow leaves are still drying, so it will be interesting to see how this progresses.

I would like to experiment with more complex woven designs once I see how these leaves are holding up after a couple of months.