Dye, Shrooms!

It wasn’t often that Fig went out in his doll form. Picking an outfit, putting it on, having to pay more attention to where your body was in comparison to others… It was so much work. 

Regardless, sometimes it was necessary. He’d just come out of Cottontail Couture; every once in awhile when Peter had a free afternoon, the two Sloth crafters met up and chatted about plushie designs. 

“How did you make this little Bearly plushie look so realistic?” 

“I had a somewhat willing model,” Fig chuckled. “Sprout wasn’t always happy about staying still for me to adjust measurements, but the treats he got afterwards seemed to make it worth it for him.” 

Peter laughed as well, then paused. “Wait, does that mean that the outfit the plushie is wearing…” 

“Yeah, I had a Bearly running around my house in boots and a rain jacket for awhile. The plushie was supposed to have a matching umbrella but Sprout wouldn’t give it back.” 

Handmade shopping bags looped over each shoulder, Fig was on his way home with a haul of fabric scraps that Peter had sold to him for cheap. As he walked, Fig couldn’t help but notice the sheer amount of mushrooms that had sprouted up in the past week or so. They wouldn’t bother him as much if they weren’t so fucking gaudy. 

The brown, white, and black ones? Those were fine. There were also a few in muted colours here and there. But a lot of them were also bright, nearly neon shades. 

If they were at least useful, then - huh. 

Fig stopped mid-stride to look at a poster that had been stapled to a bulletin board. It was an advertisement for a joint book store and textiles shop that also offered various crafting classes, mainly focused on fibre arts. As he read through the list of classes, he got an idea. 

Fig pulled out his phone and dialed the number on the poster, eyes flicking to a patch of mushrooms he brought the phone up to his ear. 

His phone barely rang once before the call was picked up. 

“Hello! You’ve reached Books & Fibre Arts Land, how can I be of assistance?” 

“Hi, is this -” Fig looked back towards the poster, “Adelaide?” 

“Please, call me Abby. What can I do for you?” 

“Alright, Abby. I’m looking at one of your posters right now and I see that you offer some ‘intro to dyeing’ classes. Do you think I could use mushrooms for dyeing fabric?” 

The bun on the other end of the line was silent for a moment before she continued. “I think it would be better for you to come to the store so I could give you a proper demonstration.” 

Fig blinked. “Is this a proposition?” 

She laughed, a warm sound. “No, no, nothing gets in the way of creative drive.” Her voice was teasing. “I’ve got time tonight if you’re free? I’m interested in how a mushroom-based dye would work as well… The shop is open quite late but we’re often slow in the evenings, what time would work for you?” 

“I could come around seven? I’ve got a few more errands to do today.” 

“That’s fine dear, I’ll see you this evening.” 

“Sounds good, bye.” 

Fig hung up and snapped a quick picture of the poster before continuing on his way home. 

~ 

“Okay, if you’re coming let’s go, why are you - hey!” Fig snatched up his Bearly with one hand and held him up. Sprout narrowed his big white eyes and growled, paws holding tightly to the small umbrella Fig had made with scrap fabric and interfacing. “Nobody is taking it away from you! But if you lose it outside you’re gonna be even more upset.” 

The Bearly growled again but seemed to understand what Fig was getting at, as he gripped the umbrella with both paws. 

“Alright.” Fig put Sprout down and picked up the bags he’d left near the front door. One still held half of the fabric he’d gotten from Peter earlier in the day, and the other was empty and ready to be filled with mushrooms that he planned to pick fresh as he walked to the ‘proper demonstration’ he’d signed up for. 

He left his house, holding the door open long enough for Sprout to follow, and went on his way. Nobody batted an eye at the sight of the Sloth doll - and his Bearly, to a certain extent - going from mushroom patch to mushroom patch, pulling up the most colourful ones to put in his bag. Adelaide’s shop really wasn’t all that far, but Fig was glad he’d decided to leave so early. He could take his time sorting through the wild shrooms, and had plenty of extra wiggle room that allowed him to leisurely go get Sprout as the Bearly chased after a rogue Phloof that had gotten too close, wielding his tiny umbrella like a bat. 

Even with all the mushroom picking and Bearly chasing, Fig arrived before the preset ‘appointment’. He scooped up Sprout and tucked his energetic imp into the bag with the fabrics and entered Books & Fibre Arts Land. 

Immediately Fig knew that this was his kind of place. It wasn’t nearly as polished as some fabric shops tended to be. The shelves were over-stocked, stacks of fabric only sort-of sorted. The Books side of Books & Fibre Arts Land was a bit more organized, but Fig only gave it a fleeting glance before scoping out the aisles of fabric and other crafting supplies. 

“Welcome! How can I help you?” 

Fig turned to see an older looking Greed doll in a cozy sweater, her Star Motes glittering in matching colours. “Hi, are you Ade - Abby?” 

The doll’s polite smile widened as Fig corrected himself mid-sentence. “That’s right!” She looked at the already-full bags he carried and waved sweetly at Sprout as he stuck his head out of the one holding the fabric scraps. “Are you the one I spoke to on the phone about mushroom dyes earlier today? I never did get your name.” 

“Oh, yeah, sorry.” Fig held his hand out. “I’m Fig. And this is Sprout.” He tipped his head in the Bearly’s direction, chuckling as he grumbled and hid back in the bag. 

Abby took his hand and gave it a firm shake. “Nice to finally meet you, Fig. Now, if you’ll follow me, I’ll show you to my ‘workshop’.” The Greed doll led him into a back room that was well lit but had few decorations and very little clutter compared to the shop proper. 

At Abby’s gestured invitation, Fig placed his bags on a large table. He untangled Sprout from the fabrics and placed him on the floor so he could wander around the room as they worked.

“I already took the liberty of setting some things up. And I see you brought quite a few mushrooms to work with?” She poked through the bag with the freshly picked mushrooms, beginning to sort them by colour. “It’ll be a very similar process to dyeing with any other natural dye, so - “ Abby trailed off as she looked over at Fig, who realized he must be staring blankly at her. “Have you ever used a natural dye?” 

“I don’t dye anything,” Fig admitted. “I mainly upcycle, and finding inspiration in something the way it already is feels a lot more fulfilling than just dyeing it.” 

Abby nodded sagely. “I can definitely understand where you’re coming from, and I appreciate that you’re willing to learn something new today!” She grabbed a large jar with crystallized salt in it and brought it over for Fig to examine more closely. “This is mordant. It’s a metallic salt that will help the colour pigments bind with the fabrics. Treating the fabric with mordant is especially important when using natural dyes like what we’re trying today.” 

Abby gestured at Fig to hand her one of the large metal buckets that had been set nearby. She filled it with water and scooped some of the mordant salt into it, giving it a good stir. “Okay, pick the piece you want to test first and put it in there to soak!” 

Fig followed the instructions he was given, choosing an off-white scrap that was one of the bigger pieces he’d gotten from Peter. He picked up a small mushroom off the table and handed it to the grumbling Bearly at his feet, then nodded to the rest of them. “How do we prepare these?” 

Abby hummed thoughtfully. “Let’s get them chopped up so they’ll release their juices better. I’ll start heating up our dye water, if you could get started on that? There should be knives and a cutting board in that drawer there.” 

Fig went to the drawer she pointed out and pulled out what he needed, as well as a large bowl. He began to roughly chop a pile of purple mushrooms, squashing them with the flat of his knife and scraping as much of the juice as he could into the bowl along with the chunks of mushroom. Once the bowl was full, he looked up to see Abby pulling the fabric out of the mordant bucket, ringing it out thoroughly before placing it into the pot on the stove, which was now gently simmering. 

She glanced over to look over Fig’s handiwork. “Looks great! Now let’s get those little packets of dye in the water here -” Fig added the chopped and mashed mushrooms to the simmering pot - “and let it sit on low heat for at least fifteen minutes.” 

“This seems easy enough.” Fig admitted, watching as Abby went over to open the window a little bit wider and came back. 

“Most of the difficulty comes with knowing how to properly prep the fabric before the actual dyeing process,” Abby admitted. “Once you have a grasp on what methods work with each type of fabric, it’s very easy.”

“So now we just wait?” Fig pulled out a chair and sat down, pushing out another one for Abby with his foot.

“So now we just wait.” Abby confirmed as she sat down, then tipped her head thoughtfully. “You mentioned upcycling; is that a common pastime for you?” 

“It's my job, actually.” Fig grabbed his phone and brought up the Bunstagram account of his business. He handed his phone to Abby and let her scroll through the pictures of various clothes and bedding items he’d made recently. “Everything is one of a kind,” Fig pointed out. 

Abby hummed as she scrolled through the photos, a small smile on her face. “I’ve heard some rave reviews about Figcushion; sorry for not making the connection until just now!” She glanced up at him, obviously pleased. “Your work is very well done. I’ve been getting requests to add new pillows and blankets for the reading nooks lately, and while I love to make those things as well, I’d much prefer to support another small business. I guess I’ll have to keep an eye on your restock dates.” Abby handed his phone back to him, winking playfully. “I noticed you mostly work with pastels; your workshop must be a paradise of colours… You seem like the type of bun that takes a lot of pride in your work, am I right?” 

Fig nodded, chuckling softly. “Yeah, I’ve had friends joke about my Sloth horns growing into Pride curls because of how I am about my work.” He felt a tug on his pant leg and looked down. Sprout has his arms raised in a ‘pick me up’ gesture, and for the first time since he’d used the Bearly as a model for the plushie’s raincoat, Sprout wasn’t holding his fabric umbrella. Fig glanced around and saw it sitting in a mess of purple juices and mushroom pulp. “Did you use your umbrella to try and cut that?” He sighed and scooped Sprout up, holding the Bearly in his lap as he seemed to pout about his ruined umbrella. “I’ll make you another one when we get home, okay?” Fig glanced up and smiled apologetically at Abby. “Sorry, I’ll clean that up before I go; I imagine this is how Murmur feels when he takes a bunch of kits home every Breeding Season.”

Abby laughed softly, shaking her head. She opened her mouth to reply but a shrill beep interrupted her. “Oh, that’s fifteen!” Abby got up and went to turn the stove off, resetting the timer for five minutes. “Once the water cools down a little, we’ll take the fabric out and hang it up to dry.” She sat down again, chuckling when she saw that Sprout had climbed his way up onto Fig’s head, forcing him to take his beret off and put it on the table next to his bags. “And don’t worry about your sweet little imp; I’ve got some troublemakers of my own. My two Candyls are complete opposites, one Fiendish and the other albino, but they still somehow work together to cause all kinds of chaos.” She shook her head in amusement. 

“Sprout is my most energetic. The rest of my imps behave for the most part. Dizzy, my Plush Sciel, even does her best to help out when I’m crafting.” 

Fig and Abby chatted easily about their imps until the stove timer went off again. Abby pulled out some thick gloves and reached into the pot of water, pulling out the fabric piece and wringing it out before bringing it over to a clothesline strung from the ceiling. Before Fig could get over there to help her, the Greed bun had the fabric hung up and was standing back to examine the results. 

Despite the mushrooms themselves being a deep royal purple, they had only passed on a pastel shade to the fabric. Fig found his tail wagging slightly, pleased. 

Abby looked over at him and smiled. “I would say we could put it back into the pot to get the colour to darken, but this seems to suit the aesthetic that you’re looking for just fine.” 

Fig nodded. “I was complaining earlier to myself that the mushrooms growing outside were too bright, so this is perfect.” He glanced back towards the table to where the rest of his fabric waited. “Would you mind if I stayed a bit longer and we dyed more? Since we have everything set up already.”

“Of course! It’s rare that I get to teach a fellow crafter some new tricks.” Abby went over to the table and began pulling the remaining fabric out of the bag. “In fact, you’re welcome back anytime! I’ll always be here to help you out with any crafting needs, or even if you just need to be out of your home for an hour or two.” She turned back and gave him a friendly, genuine smile. “Now, let’s decide what piece we’re doing next, shall we?” 

Fig smiled back, heading over to where - his new friend? - waited. He untangled Sprout from his hair and put him on the table. “Pick what you want for your new toy, little guy.” 

The two dolls laughed as Sprout immediately began rooting through the fabric, eventually picking out a piece and holding it up like a trophy. Fabric in one hand and Bearly in the other, Fig followed Abby back to the mordant bucket to begin the process all over again. 

Fig left the shop hours later, both bags empty but for a Bearly, and already looking forward to returning tomorrow to pick up his newly dyed fabrics.