Natural Dyes I have spent the last few days experimenting with natural dyes made from plant products. The process has given me a new appreciation for natural colours and fabrics. It has been a fascinating journey as I have tested the validity of different information on the topic and worked with the natural dyes. The information below has been gathered from research and my own findings. What Can Be Used as Natural Dyes? The best thing about natural dyeing is that the ingredients you need are fairly easy to come by. Here are just a few materials you can use (and the colors you’ll get with each). Brown Onion skins (yellow/orange) Red Onion Skins Coffee grounds/tea (brown) Strawberries/cherries (pink) Roses (pink) Lavender (pink) Red cabbage (blue/purple) Hyacinth flowers (blue) Beets (deep red) Iris roots (gray/black) Daylily blooms (red/purple) Artichokes (green) Celery leaves (yellow) Turmeric (yellow) Mulberries/blueberries/blackberries (purples) Red Hibiscus Flower (reds-purples) How to Get Started Straining the dye Step 1: Prepare the Dye Chop your plant or berries into small pieces, measure them, and put them in a medium-to-large pot. Add twice as much water as ingredients (if you put in two cups of plant material, add four cups of water). Bring to a boil, and then simmer for one hour. Strain off the hard materials and keep the “dye.” Keep in mind that the longer you let the materials sit in the water, the stronger your dye is going to be. If you have the time, you can even let it soak overnight (without heat) to get a really concentrated solution. Red Onion Skins Red Cabbage Brown Onion Skins Beets Red Hibiscus Vinegar Fixative Step 2: Prepare the Fixative Once you’ve picked out what you want to dye and you’ve got your dye all ready to go, you have to prepare a fixative for your fabric. This will “fix” the dye into the fibers so it won’t wash out. If you’re using berries to dye your fabric, you should use a salt fixative. Put 1/2 cup salt in 8 cups of water. Put your fabric in here and boil for one hour. If you’re using plants to dye your fabric, you have to use a vinegar fixative. Combine one part vinegar and four parts water, and boil the fabric in the mixture for one hour. When your fabric is done, rinse it out under cold water. Step 3: Dye the Fabric All you do now is place your wet fabric into the dye bath and simmer until the fabric has reached the color and shade you want. The color is going to be a bit lighter once the fabric dries out. Then, wash the fabric separately under running cold water until the water runs clear. Beetroot Dye Red Cabbage dye Brown Onion Dye Red Onion Dye Tea dye Red Hibiscus Dye Turmeric tie-dye Turmeric dyes (with tie dye) Sample natural dyes Sample natural dyes Red Hibisus colour after rinsing Red Cabbage dye pre-wash Beet pre-wash Brown onion pre-wash Names of dye for each fabric sample Naturally dyed fabric As evidenced by the pictures, natural dyes really do work! The easiest colours to obtain are brown, yellow, red and purple tones. I tried several of the listed natural dyes for green (grass, spinach & red onion skins) but none of them were successful; in fact, the red onion skins produced a strong brown/red colour. All of the colours are muted compared to the pre-wash colour. This may be simply the process for natural dyes. I did not use any chemical fixatives; these may have helped to hold the colours better!
Sharing some of our favorite ways to dye fabric - from indigo to turmeric to hibiscus leaves. Learn How to use natural dyes on fabric!
A small list of the best books and websites for learning how to dye fabric naturally with plant-based materials.
Leer zelf Garens & Textiel Verven middels verschillende technieken! We geven je hier Tips, Tricks en Ideeën om zelf aan de slag te gaan ;)
Learn how to extract dye from acorns, and use it to achieve a beautiful range of natural color, including tans, browns, and blacks!
Natural Dyeing Tutorial. Learn how to use red cabbage to obtain beautiful purples, greens and blues with organic cotton yarn.
We are obsessed with dyeing fabrics. Today we are delighted to partner with method in their #fearnomess campaign with a DIY Natural Fabric Dye tutorial.
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How to make natural dye using food from your kitchen. Simple and easy to do with things like red cabbage, black beans, turmeric, and coffee.
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Want to learn how to make natural dyes at home (with items you likely already have?) This guide has everything you need to get started!
Our Fashion and Textiles team of two, Charlotte and Philippa, spent a recent Saturday natural dyeing, re-colouring samples and offcuts from their combined fabric collections. Philippa Grogan details their day of dyeing experiments.
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The dry outer skins of onions can be used for coloring natural textile materials and easter eggs. Red onion skins create a different range of colors than yellow onions skins, so it's important to keep your dye sources separated. The process of achieving color from onion skins is one of the easiest sources of natural color, and is a great place to start if your just beginning with natural dying.
Herbal Academy's Natural Dyes Workshop will teach you everything you need to know to dye common household materials with botanicals.
Modern day printing with natural dyes.
[responsivevoice_button] The live round of the Iso Dye Club has come to an end, although new students are still welcome to join and will be able to work through the ecourse at their own pace. It ha…
Natural dyeing is an ancient tradition & techniques behind this art hardly vary globally. Read the article to know more about natural dyeing than most people.
One of the really fun things we did this Summer was discover all the things we could dye play silks with (tissue paper & food dye.) We had so much fun dying them and then playing with them. Recently we have been playing a with red cabbage water experiments - which made me think what play silks would look like dyed with these mixtures. And why limit it to cabbage water? In my cupboard we also decided to play with turmeric, paprika & beetroot. Here is my little chemist ready to mix away to her hearts content with the cabbage water. The pink glasses are her safety goggles ..... Cabbage Chop up red cabbage and add some bit water. Bring the the boil and simmer until cabbage is pale. Split the cabbage water into two pots. Add silk scarf and soak for 30mins to one pot. In the other pot add some vinegar - the mixture will turn dark pink - add silk scarf and soak for 30mins. Once your silk scarf has finished soaking in the first pot. Remove the scarf and add in baking soda (the mixture will turn greeny blue) - add silk scarf & soak for 30mins. Note: Cabbage water changes color depending on its PH. When they were washed & dried the colors became much less vibrant. Silks soaked in with cabbage water before washing Turmeric Mix turmeric & water - bring to the boil - add silk scarf and soak for 30mins Paprika Mix paprika & water - bring to the boil - add silk scarf and soak for 30mins. Beetroot Boiled 3 chopped up beetroot in some water for about 40mins- puree everything together - add silk scarf and soak for 30mins. Cabbage Water = Soft Purple Cabbage Water + Vingear = Soft Pink/Purple Cabbage Water + Baking Soda = Silver Blue Paprika = Gold (honestly - it is a gorgeous gold hue) Beetroot = Cream Turmeric = Bright Bright Yellow (just look at that yellow!! See below.) Note: After we had soaked the silks I dried them on their own on the hottest setting on our tumble dryer (sanitize) and then put them on their own through a 20mins cold wash (no detergent) and dried them again on the hottest setting. I'm not sure we have anymore space for playsilks in our dress up box. I am playing with the idea of making a quilt from these. Other dyeing fun we have had: Tissue Dyed Silk Pillows Two Tone Play Silks Teacher Appreciation Gift: Home Made Play Silks Easy Silk Scarf Dyeing with Tissue Paper Kid Friendly Dyeing - Making your own Play Silks
The dry outer skins of onions can be used for coloring natural textile materials and easter eggs. Red onion skins create a different range of colors than yellow onions skins, so it's important to keep your dye sources separated. The process of achieving color from onion skins is one of the easiest sources of natural color, and is a great place to start if your just beginning with natural dying.
Discover the process of dyeing with this Natural Dye Pulling (Tie Dyeing) DIY. This project is great to do with kids and is part of our Kids Lab series.
It started with avocados. "Remember when people were dying fabric with the pits and skins, like, three or four years ago? I tried it and became so obsessed
Would you believe that my family is planning on moving again? It would be my 5th move since I started this blog in 2008. If I'm lucky the...
Natural dye technique - How to dye fabric using only dried flowers petals and natural ingredients
This article contains an overview of natural green dyes that can be used to dye both yarn and fabric. The first color that comes to mind when
An interview with designer and natural dye extrodinaire, Graham Keegan. Walking into Graham Keegan’s LA design space in Silver Lake, I am overwhelmed by the idea of simplicity. Natural light pours in from the front wall of windows and brilliantly reflects off of the remaining three. It smells of plants – some dried and cracked, some alive […]
We're cooking up a storm with Le Creuset's newest colors! Come learn how to make dyes in every shade of the rainbow using natural ingredients!
Mordants and Assists available at The Yarn Tree Today I’d like to talk about mordants.The word mordant comes from the French word “mordre” – to bite. The mordant combines with a natural dye and fixes the color to the material. Mordants make the color richer, lightfast and wash-fast.
Learn how to use calendula flowers to dye fabric to create stunning and bright yellow natural dye to make DIY dyed fabrics.
Nature provides a rainbow of colors that you can use to dye fabrics naturally to avoid harmful chemicals. Learn how to use natural dyes.
1. Collect your avocado stones and rinse them thoroughly under the tap to wash off any green fleshy bits. I store my stones in the freezer as it keeps them nice and fresh, a fresher plant makes a more vibrant dye!
Our Fashion and Textiles team of two, Charlotte and Philippa, spent a recent Saturday natural dyeing, re-colouring samples and offcuts from their combined fabric collections. Philippa Grogan details their day of dyeing experiments.
In this post I want to highlight the important topic of mordanting and help you chose which mordant to use for your natural dyeing project.
Anyone who can make a pot of tea can dye a skein of wool or yard of plain linen to whatever color they want, using commonly found plants.
Natural Dyes, India
My woad plant (Isatis Tinctoria) suffered quite an extensive catepillar attack while I was away this summer. I thought it best to dye with it as soon as possible before it got all eaten away. This …
This article contains an overview of natural green dyes that can be used to dye both yarn and fabric. The first color that comes to mind when
