Hapa Zome

Hapa zome is a way of printing with plants. You lay fresh leaves and petals on fabric and tap them firmly with a hammer or mallet, which squeezes their natural colour into the cloth. The name comes from Japanese and is usually translated as leaf dye. It needs no paint or ink, just plants, fabric and a steady tap.

Leaves and petals are full of natural pigments, such as the green chlorophyll that helps plants make food from sunlight. When you hammer a leaf against fabric, its cells burst and the colour soaks into the fibres, leaving a print of every vein and edge. Natural fabrics such as cotton, calico and silk take the colour best. You usually cover the leaf with a sheet of paper or fold the fabric over it before tapping, which keeps things tidy and can give you a mirror-image print too. Peel the leaf away and there's your picture.

Fresh, soft, juicy plants give the strongest prints. Ferns are a classic, because their feathery shapes come out beautifully. Young green leaves, clover, grasses and soft herbs all work well, and brightly coloured petals can add pinks, purples and yellows. Dry, waxy or tough leaves tend to give fainter prints. Colours can change as the print dries, which is part of the surprise.

Sessions often start with a gentle forage, where your Activity Leader helps you spot good plants to pick. Only take a little from plants there's plenty of, and leave anything you don't recognise. Back at the table, you arrange your leaves on the fabric, cover them and start tapping. It's noisy, satisfying and a lovely surprise when you lift the paper. You'll leave with a piece of fabric art you can wear or use.

Yes. Children love the hunt for leaves and the chance to hammer something, and seeing the prints appear feels a bit like magic. It's a lovely way to look closely at nature together. Younger children may need help to keep fingers clear of the hammer. There's a lot of tapping, so it can be loud for sensitive ears.

You might also like Botanical Story Trail, Cyanotypes and Block Printing.

See all Camp Kindling activities