How to dye your fabric
Tip: Wear gloves when handling the dyed fabric as it may stain your hands.
- Make the colour fixative. There are 2 types. For most
natural dyes you will need a plant fixative: mix 4 cups of water with 1
cup of vinegar. If you are making a natural dye from berries use a salt
fixative: mix half a cup of salt with 8 cups of cold water.
- Soak
the fabric in the colour fixative for about an hour before you start
the dyeing process. This prepares the fabric to accept the dye.
- Rinse the material in cool water until the water runs clear.
- Make the dye. Ask an adult to help you.
Chop the berries, leaves and nuts you have collected into small pieces
and place in a saucepan. Add twice as much water and bring to the boil.
Simmer for about an hour and strain.
- Put your fabric into the
dye and leave it to soak. For a stronger shade, leave the material in
the dye overnight. Your dyed item will be lighter in colour when dry.
Remember: Dyed fabric should be washed separately in cold water.
http://www.nhm.ac.uk/kids-only/things-to-make-and-do/natural-dyes/
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Did you know that a great source
for natural dyes can be found right in your own back yard! Roots,
nuts and flowers are just a few common natural ways to get many
colors. Yellow, orange, blue, red, green, brown and grey are
available. Go ahead, experiment! |
Gathering plant material
for dyeing: Blossoms
should be in full bloom, berries ripe and nuts mature. Remember,
never gather more than 2/3 of a stand of anything in the wild
when gathering plant stuff for dying.
To make the dye solution: Chop plant material into small pieces
and place in a pot. Double the amount of water to plant material.
Bring to a boil, then simmer for about an hour. Strain. Now you
can add your fabric to be dyed. For a stronger shade, allow material
to soak in the dye overnight.
Getting the fabric ready
for the dye bath: You
will have to soak the fabric in a color fixative before the dye
process. This will make the color set in the fabric. |
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Color Fixatives:
Salt Fixative (for berry dyes) 1/2 cup salt to 8
cups cold water
Plant Fixatives (for plant dyes) 4 parts cold water
to 1 part vinegar
Add fabric to the fixative and
simmer for an hour. Rinse the material and squeeze out excess.
Rinse in cool water until water runs clear.
Dye Bath: Place wet fabric in dye bath. Simmer
together until desired color is obtained. The color of the fabric
will be lighter when its dry. Also note that all dyed fabric
should be laundered in cold water and separately.
Muslin, silk, cotton and wool
work best for natural dyes and the lighter the fabric in color,
the better. White or pastel colors work the best.
NOTE: It's best to use an old large pot as your dye
vessel. Wear rubber gloves to handle the fabric that has been
dyed, the dye can stain your hands. It's also important to note,
some plant dyes may be toxic, check with the Poison Control Center
if unsure. |
A Listing
Of Plant Material Available For Dyes
|
Shades Of Orange |
Shades Of Brown |
- Alder Bark
- (orange)
- Bloodroot
will give a good orange to reddish orange color.
- Sassafras
(leaves)
- Onion (skin)
- orange
- Lichen
(gold)
- Carrot
- (roots)
orange
- Lilac (twigs) - yellow/orange
- Barberry
(mahonia sp.) yellow orange (with alum) very strong & permanent.
Any part of the plant will work.
- Giant Coreopsis
(Coreopsis gigantea) Yields bright permanent orange with alum.
- Turmeric
dyed cloth will turn orange or red if it is dipped in lye.
- Pomagrante
– with alum anywhere from orange to khaki green.
- Butternut
- (seed
husks) - orange
- Eucaluptus
- (leaves and bark) beautiful shades of tan, orange and brown. |
- Wild plum
root will give a reddish or rusty brown.
- Oak bark
will give a tan or oak color.
- Sumac (leaves)
- tan
- Dandelion
(roots)
brown
- Broom - (bark) - yellow/brown
- Walnut
(hulls) - deep brown (wear gloves)
- Walnut
(husks) - deep brown - black
- Tea Bags
- light brown, tan
- White Birch
- (inner
bark) - brown
- Juniper
Berries
- Fennel
- (flowers,
leaves) - yellow/brown
- Coffee
Grinds
- Acorns
(boiled)
- Hollyhock
(petals)
- Colorado
Fir - (bark) - tan
- Yellow
dock (shades of brown)
- Beetroot
-Dark Brown With FeSO4
- Maple Trees
(Red Leaf Buds) - red-brown color when dried. Found on branches
before new leaves appear only present during early spring and
throughout fall.
- Amur Maple
(Acer
Ginnala) - black, blue, brown from dried leaves.
- Ivy - (twigs) - yellow/brown
- Pine Tree
Bark - light medium brown. Needs no mordant.
- White Maple
(bark) - Light brown/ buff - Alum to set
- Birch (bark) - Light brown/
buff - Alum to set
- St John's
Wort (blossom) - brown
- Broom Sedge
- golden yellow and brown
- Coneflower
(flowers) - brownish green ; leaves and stems - gold
- Goldenrod
(shoots ) - deep brown |
|
Shades Of Pink |
|
- Strawberries
- Cherries
- Raspberries
(red)
- Roses and
Lavender, with a little mint and some lemon juice to activate
the alkaloids can make both a brilliant pink dye and a very tasty
pink lemonade.
- Lichens
- A pink, brown, or wine colored dye can be produced from a lichen
known as British soldiers.
- Camilla
-It's a nice pink-magenta.
With lemon and salt.
- Grand Fir -(bark) pink |
|
|
Shades Of Blue - Purple |
Shades Of Red |
 - Dogwood (bark) - blue
- Red cabbage
- Woad (first year leaves).
Woad gives a pale to mid blue colour depending on the type of
fabric and the amount of woad used.
- Mulberries
(royal purple)
- Elderberries
(lavender)
- Saffron
- (petals)
blue/green
- Grapes
(purple)
- Blueberries
- Cornflower
- (petals)
blue dye with alum, water
- Cherry
(roots)
- Blackberry
(fruit) strong purple
- Hyacinth
- (flowers)
- blue
- Japanese
indigo (deep blue)
- Indigo
(leaves) - blue
- Red Cedar
Root (purple)
- Raspberry
-(fruit)
purple/blue
- Red Maple
Tree (purple)(inner bark)
- Nearly
Black Iris - (dark
bluish purple) alum mordant
- Dogwood
- (fruit)
greenish-blue
- Oregon
Grape -(fruit)
blue/purple
- Purple
Iris - blue
- Sweetgum
(bark) - purple / black
- Queen Anne's
Lace - |
- Elderberry
- red
- Red leaves
will give a reddish brown color I use salt to set the dye.
- Sumac
(fruit) - light red
- Sycamore
(bark)- red
- Dandelion
(root)
- Beets
- deep red
- Bamboo
- turkey red
- Crab Apple
- (bark)
- red/yellow
- Rose
(hips)
- Chokecherries
- Madder
(root) - red
- Hibiscus
Flowers (dried)
- Kool-aid
- Canadian Hemlock
- (bark) reddish brown
- Japanese
Yew -
(heartwood) - brown dye
- Wild ripe Blackberries
- Brazilwood
- St. John's
Wort
- (whole plant) soaked in alcohol - red
- Bedstraw
(root) - red
|
|
Shades Of Gray
- Black |
Shades Of Red
- Purple |
- Iris (roots)
- Sumac (leaves)
(Black)
- Carob
pod (boiled) will give a gray to cotton
- Oak galls - makes a good black dye.
- Sawthorn Oak - (seed
cups) - black
- Walnut (hull) - black
- Rusty nails & vinegar
- set with Alum. |
- Pokeweed
(berries)
- Hibiscus
(flowers, dark red or purple ones) - red-purple.
- Daylilies
(old blooms)
- Safflower - (flowers, soaked
in alcohol) - red
- Logwood
(is a good purple but you have to watch it as it dyes quick
when the pot is fresh. Also it exhausts fast. We use alum to
mordant and using iron can give you logwood gray.)
- Huckleberry
- lavender (can use it for dye and also for ink.)
- Portulaca
- (flowers, dried and crushed to a powder) use with a vinegar
orsalt mordant, can produce strong magentas, reds, scarlets,
oranges and
yellows (depending upon the color of the flower)
- Beluga
Black Lentils - soaked in water overnight .. yield a dark
purplish / black water. The color is washfast and lightfast and
needs NO MORDANT and it lasts - a beautiful milk chocolate brown
(when super thick) ... to a lighter medium brown or light brown
when watered down.
- Dark Hollyhock
(petals) - mauve
- Basil
- purplish grey |
|
Shades Of Green |
Shades Of Peach/Salmon |
- Artemisia
species provide a range of greens from baby's breath to nettle
green.
- Artichokes
- Tea Tree - (flowers) green/black
- Spinach
(leaves)
- Sorrel
(roots)
- dark green
- Foxglove
- (flowers)
apple green
- Lilac - (flowers) - green
- Camellia
- (pink,
red petals) - green
- Snapdragon
- (flowers)
- green
- Black-Eyed
Susans
- Grass
(yellow green)
- Pigsweed
(entire
plant) yellow green
- Red Pine
(needles)
green
- Nettle
- Broom - (stem) green
- Larkspur
- green
- alum
- Plantain
Roots
- White Ash
- (bark)
- yellow
- Purple
Milkweed -
(flowers & leaves) - green
- Lily-of-the-valley
(light green) be careful what you do with the spent dye bath.
The plant is toxic so try to avoid pouring it down the drain
into the water supply.
- Barberry
root (wool was dyed a greenish bronze-gold)
- Red onion
(skin) (a medium green, lighter than
forest green)
- Yarrow
- (flowers)
yellow & green shades
- Mulga Acacia
- (seed
pods) - green
- Peach - (leaves) yellow/green
- Coneflower
(flowers)
- green
- Peppermint
- dark kakhi green color
- Queen Anne's
Lace - pale green
- Black-Eyed
Susans - bright olive/apple green
- Hydrangea
(flowers) - alum mordant, added some copper and it came out
a beautiful celery green
- Chamomile
(leaves) - green |
- Jewelweed
- orange/peach
- Broom Flower
- Virginia
Creeper (all parts); alum mordant; Peach.
- Achiote
powder (annatto seed
- Plum tree
(roots) (salmon color on wool with alum)
- Weeping
Willow (wood & bark) makes a peachy brown (the tannin
acts as a mordant)
- Virgina
Creeper -
(fruit) - pink
- Balm
(blossom) - rose pink
|
Shades
Of Yellow/Wheat
|
- Bay leaves
- yellow
- Barberry
(bark) - yellow
- Crocus
- yellow
- Fustic
- yellow
- Saffron
(stigmas) - yellow - set with Alum.
- Safflower
(flowers, soaked in water) - yellow
- Sassafras
(bark)- yellow
- Syrian
Rue (glows
under black light)
- Red Clover (whole
blossom, leaves and stem) alum mordant - gold
- Yellow
cone flower (whole flower head); chrome mordant; Brass to
Greeney-Brass.
- Onion (skins) - set with Alum.
- Alfalfa
(seeds)
- yellow
- Marigold
(blossoms) - yellow
- Willow
(leaves)
- Queen Anne's
Lace
- Heather - (plant) - yellow
- St. John's
Wort - (flowers & leaves) - gold/yellow
- Burdock
- Celery
(leaves)
- Golden
Rod (flowers)
- Sumac
(bark) - The inner pith
of Sumac branches can produce a super bright yellow color.
- Weld (bright
yellow)
- Old man's
beard lichen - yellow/brown/orange shades
- Oregon-grape
roots - yellow
- Cameleon
plant (golden)
- Mimosa - (flowers) yellow
- Dandelion
flower
- Osage Orange
also known as Bois d'arc or hedgeapple (heartwood, inner bark,
wood, shavings or sawdust) (pale yellow)
- Daffodil
flower heads (after they have died); alum mordant
- Mullen
(leaf and root) pale yellow. *careful, because the little
fuzzy hairs can make one itchy!
- Hickory
leaves (yellow) if plenty of leaves are boiled and salt added.
- Tea
( ecru color)
- Yellow,
Curly, Bitter, or Butter Dock (despite various leaf shapes,
all have a bright yellow taproot) gives you a yellow/flesh color.
- White mulberry
tree (bark) Cream color onto white or off-white wool. Alum
mordant.
- Paprika
-pale yellow - light orange)
- Peach
(leaves) - yellow
- Beetroot
(yellow) (alum & K2Cr2O7)
- Turmeric
(spice) --bright yellow
- Oxallis
(wood sorrels) (flowers) - the one with the yellow
flowers. Use the flower heads, some stem ok. It is nearly fluorescent
yellow, and quite colorfast on alum mordanted wool.
If the oxalis
flowers are fermented or if a small dash of cloudy ammonia is
added to the dyebath (made alkaline) the fluorescent yellow becomes
fluorescent orange. Usually I do this as an after-bath, once
I have the initial colour. Useful for shifting the dye shade,
and some good surprises in store!
- Dahlia
Flowers (Red, yellow,
orange flowers) make a lovely yellow to orange dye for wool.
- Mulga Acacia -(flowers) - yellow
- Sunflowers
- (flowers)
- yellow
- Dyer's
Greenwood (shoots) - yellow
- Tansy
(tops) - yellow
- Yarrow
- yellow and gold |
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http://www.pioneerthinking.com/crafts/crafts-basics/naturaldyes.html
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Hoping to make fern coloured dye for t shirts
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/gardeningpicturegalleries/8781702/Autumn-colours-leaves-across-Britain-begin-to-turn-orange-and-red.html?image=15
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