This webpage is a copy of the comments received on a blog post on Ali’s original website, alibrown.co.nz. The blog post itself is now at “The wax on flax”.
This webpage is a copy of the comments received on a blog post on Ali’s original website, alibrown.co.nz. The blog post itself is now at “The wax on flax”.
April 16th, 2008 at 12:41 pm
Thank you so much for taking the time to share your knowledge with us. I’m happy to wait for the booklet!
May 21st, 2008 at 9:06 am
Kia ora from the North Ali,
I find your site informative and inspiring but most of all refreshing…. refreshing my love of weaving
Lucky students to have you pass on your gift
Happy Matariki
Dorothy
ps I am in agreement with you … colour has its place,I’m hoping that the Northern weavers have a forum to discuss dye issues … saftey, price, techniques etc… when that does happen I will the share info
May 22nd, 2008 at 7:27 pm
Kia ora Dorothy.
It’s so nice to hear from you. I really enjoyed Every Kete has a Story. I hope the forum takes place, and will be very interested to hear about it.
May 27th, 2008 at 8:05 pm
I really enjoy your website, and need to keep checking back in to see what is new. I am also interested in your flower booklet, could you add me to the database
Thanks
May 31st, 2008 at 12:34 am
Wow what a fantastic blog I am so pleased to have found this (: I am weaving my bouquet for my wedding in November and you have the answers to so many of my questions! I would also love to buy your booklet as I am keen to learn more varieties of putiputi (:
June 1st, 2008 at 12:02 pm
Hi Tarettia and Sarah
I’ve added your names to my database.
I’m glad you’ve enjoyed reading the blog Sarah. What kind of flowers are you weaving for your bouquet? Do send me a photo when it’s made - I’d love to see it.
June 8th, 2008 at 1:28 pm
Hi Ali, I love your blog page and web page. I have to keep coming back to see what others say. Thanks Lynn
June 8th, 2008 at 3:12 pm
Love your pages Ali-admire your skills and talent and passion for korari. Please add me to your list for the booklet too.
June 15th, 2008 at 5:05 pm
Hi Ima
Yes I’ll add your name to the database - thanks for your comments and interest.
June 19th, 2008 at 9:23 pm
Thanks Ali!
I’m not sure what you call the flowers I am making, it is one blade split into 8-10 strands and woven around and around until the end. Hope that makes sense (: I will def send you a picture of the finished product.
Just a question about dying - can I dye the flowers I have already woven or does it have to be done beforehand? Thanks (:
June 22nd, 2008 at 7:15 pm
Hi Sarah
The flowers you are weaving sound like a version of the hibiscus flower that I have instructions for on the Weaving a flax flower page of my web site.
It is better to dye first and then weave as the dye doesn’t always penetrate underneath the flax strips where they cross over each other. However, if your flowers are still quite green then you may not strike this problem as the flax will still be drying and shrinking.
If they are quite dry, you could soak or boil them in hot water before you dye them so that the flax is reconstituted and this should help the dye penetrate the flax. Leave them in the hot or boiling water long enough for the flax to feel soft and pliable again.
Before you do the dyeing, I suggest that you have a think about how much of the stem of the flower you’d like to dye. I’m not that keen on seeing the dye colour suddenly stop halfway down the stem of a flower.
Dyeing the stem and the flower at the same time is an option but you do need a very large dye pot for this method. Another option is to put the flower head into the dye pot first and then turn the flower around and dye the stem, although you can get an overlap of dye at the point where the dye meets. You can also just dye the flower head so that the stem stays a natural flax colour or you can wrap the stems so they’re not seen at all. Hope I haven’t confused you with the options!
I suggest you try a couple of the flowers you have woven and see what sort of result you get. The bits that are not dyed may not be big enough to notice or for you to worry about. Happy weaving!
July 14th, 2008 at 10:02 am
Hiya,
I was just visiting your awesome website and was wondering if could pick your brains about bleaching of flax to make it super white.
I’m entering, well hoping to enter into a fashion competition and would like to use white flax.
Do I bleach it with janola or some other bleach or do I boil it? and then would it be better for me to make the flowers then bleach or bleach the flax then plait the flowers?
Thank you so much for your great website it has helped me expand on my knowledge of what my aunts have taught me!!!
July 15th, 2008 at 7:01 pm
Hi Michal
Thanks for your comments about the website - I’m glad you find it useful.
As I’ve never bleached flax I’m not sure what the results would be from using a bleach like Janola although I would suggest you boil the flax and then leave it to bleach naturally in the sun first. This will take a lot of the green colour out so it’s more likely that the Janola-type bleach will take out the rest of the colour. I’m going to try soaking some boiled and dried flax in bleach myself to see what happens. I’ll let you know. I do wonder whether the bleach will weaken the flax fibres, although if it’s only flowers that you’re making it won’t matter so much. Also I think Dylon may have a colour remover that you could try.
I would also suggest that you experiment with different flaxes as they do dry to different colours, as you may know, and some are known to dry to quite a white colour. Check out the information about the different flaxes and the colours they dry to on the Landcare Research web site. You may find one there that suits your purpose.
I would suggest that you bleach the flax before making the flowers as the shape of some flower styles can be distorted if you boil them afterwards. I always like to experiment first and then I’m sure of the result that I’ll get. Sometimes it’s not what’s expected and it can be better than expected.
There was a kete in The Eternal Thread exhibition that was very white but unfortunately it’s not in the book “The Art of Maori Weaving” which features this exhibition, so I’m not sure who the weaver was. I’ll see if I can find out.
It would be great to hear from others who have managed to whiten flax and how they’ve achieved it.
July 16th, 2008 at 8:03 pm
Hi again Michal
I asked Ranui Ngarimu, well-known weaver and co-author of the book “The Art of Maori Weaving”, about whitening harakeke and here is her advice:
Ranui confirms that bleaching will weaken the strands it may not be the best solution for you, but this will depend on the articles you are making.
Finally here’s a more radical idea that I’ve seen - harakeke flowers that have been spraypainted!
September 10th, 2008 at 6:38 pm
I am planning to make flax flower bouquets for my wedding and would be very interested in your booklet…can you add me to your database please!?! Do you have a rough estimate as to when it will be ready???
September 17th, 2008 at 2:35 pm
Hi,
I am also hoping to make my own wedding bouquet. I have been quoted a price of over $900 to have 4 bouquets and some button holes, and cannot afford this so thought i should make my own. Do you have any instructions on how to make the flax roses?
Cheers.
September 21st, 2008 at 7:59 pm
Hi Marley & Carolyn
The flower booklet will be ready soon. I’m not keen to put a time on it but if things go according to plan it will be published in the next month or two.
Carolyn - I’ve found that different-shaped flowers can be called roses by different people. There are instructions for the flower, which I call an English Rose, and which is pictured at the top of this blog post, in the booklet. There are also instructions for another type of flower, which I call a Tropical Rose, in the booklet.
October 20th, 2008 at 9:08 pm
Thanks heaps Ali, I have only just got around to coming back and checking this (: I have woven quite a few flowers now, they are the same as the ones on your page (altho not quite as perfect!) I have tried some dyign too, using dylon dyes and boiling them for 20mins and have had really good results. The flowers did open up a little bit, but I just pegged them and let them dry. I will show you the results… just deciding how to arrange the bouquet and table pieces. Only 6 weeks to go! Thanks so much for your help (:
November 1st, 2008 at 5:09 pm
Hi Sarah
Thanks for letting me know how you are getting on with the flowers. I’m glad they’re turning out well. I’d love to see some photos of the flowers once you have made your bouquet and table pieces. Good luck with the wedding!
December 12th, 2008 at 3:11 am
Hi Ali,
Your website is amazing. Can you please add me to your database to recieve your booklet?
December 14th, 2008 at 11:45 am
Hi Tamara
I’ve added your name to the database.
February 3rd, 2009 at 10:15 am
Hi There
Your website is great!! Can you please add me to your database to recieve your booklet?
February 15th, 2009 at 4:45 pm
Hi Ali,
Very informative website. Like Sarah I’m thinking of weaving flowers for my wedding and would love to see your booklet! Can you please add me to your database?
February 17th, 2009 at 5:46 pm
Hi Liz
Yes I will. At 115 pages long it’s turned into a book rather than a booklet and will be released shortly. I’ll advise you by email when it’s available.
March 3rd, 2010 at 10:38 pm
Wow, I can’t believe I’ve just stumbled across your web site in search of dying harakeke as I have accepted to make several bouquets for a cuzzies wedding and needed some ideas on dying etc.. Thank you so much for your shared information, it has help me heaps. Thank you to all those who wrote in about their experiences as this told me what not to do and to be honest I was actually gonna tried some of them myself, lol. Kia ora koutou
April 26th, 2010 at 5:47 pm
Great blog please include me in your list. Just got into Maori flax weaving and absolutely love it.
May 5th, 2010 at 2:06 am
hi guys
I would like to thank you for the efforts you have made in writing this article. I am hoping the same best work from you in the future as well and i have start my own blog now, wedding flower arrangement, thanks for your effort
May 31st, 2010 at 11:57 am
I would like to thank you on your amazing book weaving flowers.I would like to know is it best to make flowers first then dye,if so what is best dye to use,and how long you boil for.I was wondering how you go about the stems. I wish to make some flower arrangements and make my granddaughters wedding boquet.Can you please add me to your data base.I look forward to when you do a book on kete making.
May 31st, 2010 at 6:55 pm
Hi Diane
I generally dye the flax first then make the flowers. If you make the flowers first and then dye them, the dye may not get into all the woven bits and this will show as undyed flax when the flax dries and shrinks a bit. Also the flower may go out of shape a little while it is in the boiling dye and you’ll need to reshape it as it dries.
As far as the stems are concerned there are several things you can do. You can use a large pot that will fit a long flax blade in if it’s curled around, you can just dye the head of the flower and leave the stem naturally coloured, or you could wrap the stems with florists’ tape. Also the Calla Lily on page 66 of my book has instructions for a coloured woven stem.
There is information about different dyes on the Dyeing flax page of this web site.
Good luck with your grand-daughter’s wedding bouquet. Let me know how you get on with the flowers for this and do send me some photos if you get the chance.
October 11th, 2010 at 12:11 pm
Wow I love it. just like many others i stumbled onto your site. love it love it. plez may i have a copy also.
February 3rd, 2011 at 7:12 pm
Hi Ali,
Your ‘the man’, excusae the pun.
Willing to share your knowledge to us plebs and learners, how great is that, all the while fostering the age o0ld art of weaving.
I too have been trying different methods of bleaching flax, and not yet been successful. So if anyone has ‘cracked it’ do let us long sufferers know.
Ali please place me on your book new list
Fa’afetai lava
Raewyn
February 19th, 2011 at 12:58 am
kia ora Ali
It was so heart warming to read your blogs. I have been out of action with weaving due to work committments. But with a up and comming event for my family I have decided to pick it up again and purchase your recent book of weaving flax flowers which was not my strongest area. I will follow your westpac instalment then email you my address when u receive the payment. Makes it easier this is my bank also. Please add me to your list
kia kaha tonu koe
Noho ora mai
Te paea Davis
February 19th, 2011 at 7:24 am
Kia ora Tepaea
I’m glad you’ve found the blog interesting. Some of the flowers in the book only take a short time to make so hopefully you’ll find the time for some weaving.
July 7th, 2011 at 12:33 am
Kia Ora Ali,
Absolutely love the website.
I am just wondering if you know how to hapene?
I am wanting to make hapene for my grandmothers 90th birthday for decorations up in the far north. If you can guide me or instruct me, or send me instructions to making hapene.
Buying hapene is sooooooo expensive.
Thanks
July 7th, 2011 at 4:14 pm
Kia ora Rich
Hapene is the name of netted flax which is produced on a commercial basis.
Since writing this in 2011, the patent for netted flax expired in September 2020. See details here.
July 18th, 2011 at 3:02 am
Tena koe mo tena e Ali.
I was wondering, do I need to use muka flax or will any flax do the job? and also, can you recommend a way to make netted flax without using a pasta machine?
Much appreciated.
July 25th, 2011 at 6:01 pm
Tena koe Rich
Any flax will do although I imagine a flax with more fibre would make a better result. I tried netting the flax with a knife, by cutting just through one half of the green fleshy bit, and then I tried netting the flax by scraping it with a fork to scrape off the fleshy bit, but neither method was all that successful. The difference seems to be that when the flax is put through a pasta machine, the rollers push the flax apart where they push down on it, rather than cutting it. If you do end up wanting to purchase a pasta machine, I have seen quite cheap machines on sale at some of the larger stores and currently there is a model selling through what appears to be an importer for $32 on Trademe.
Since writing this in 2011, the patent for netted flax expired in September 2020. See details here.
October 16th, 2019 at 9:45 am
Kia ora Ali love your blog thank you so much for sharing your knowledge, I am very keen on your book and please include me on your list of followers and mail outs.
I have left my details for you to peruse as im just starting out in my business “Flaxrose gallery” we are out in the country ( in the middle of no where) Kaiwaka is the closest township.
cant wait to read more
Nga mihi Michael
October 16th, 2019 at 11:47 am
Kia ora Michael, Thanks for your comments. I have sent you an email regarding linking your products on my website. cheers, Ali