Natural dyes, what to grow?

[kelsey2017]

I would like to grow botanicals for coloring the fleece I will be getting off my little sheeples. I want to know what other people have had experience with, and what might grow well for me, I am a zone four. I have seen lists somewhere on the interweb, but I am looking for good old fashioned OPINIONS!

 

[chandasue]

I'm in the beginning stages of planning what to grow (or search ditches) for natural dyes as well so I'm interested in what others are doing. Also in Zone 4 here so I know that limits our options...

 

[elevan]

Elderberry will give you a purplish blue - juice the berries - you have to be quicker than the birds or net your bushes though.

Onion skins will give you a very light yellow - boil the skins to make a sort of deep tea color.

(I am in zone 5)

 

[dbunni]

I did a blackberry dye last year ... used wild berries and boiled them whole. Then crushed & separated seeds. Dropped the angora right into the new mash and WOW! What a purple color.

Also excited about this thread ... love the natural idea.

 

[chandasue]

How much dye stuff do you need to dye like 3 or 4 skeins of yarn? I have a plastic grocery bag nearly full of onion skins I've been saving but I wasn't sure how much I needed to do a batch of yarn. I also have a couple of chokecherry bushes but I wasn't sure how much I needed.

 

[cattlecait]

How do you get the dye from the plant? Do you just soak it and use the water, or what?

 

[chandasue]

Typically it's done by making a "tea" by boiling it in water or mashing berries and boiling, then straining out the plant matter. There's different mordents that you can use too to get different colors out of the same plant matter. But I haven't quite gotten the nerve to try it yet.

 

[patandchickens]

I am under the impression that most dyes do not set well (for permanent-ness) without a mordant?

I know that my handspinner m-i-l who used to do a lot of natural-source dyeing would talk about certain colors from certain plants being achievable in theory but she didn't want to do them b/c they required mordants she did not want to work with.

So, you may want to look into that issue and decide what mordants are options for you (in terms of availability, and in terms of wanting to handle them), and that will largely guide which plants you would use.

Pat

 

[kitchwitch]

just remember that with natural dyes come some pretty scary mordants. I use a combo of jacquard dyes, country classics and wilton colors and while I am fairly lax (sometimes forget to wear gloves, never wear a face mask), you HAVE to be on top of your game when working with some of those mordants. My personal favorite is Potassium Dichromate, which must be disposed of at a special facility as it's considered hazardous waste.

 

[elevan]

How much dye stuff do you need to dye like 3 or 4 skeins of yarn? I have a plastic grocery bag nearly full of onion skins I've been saving but I wasn't sure how much I needed to do a batch of yarn. I also have a couple of chokecherry bushes but I wasn't sure how much I needed.

That amount of onion skins should be able to dye that amount of yarn.
Get a pot that will fit the yarn (don't put the yarn in yet) - fill out 1/2 full of water and the skins. Boil until a deep tea color. Strain out the skins and dye the yarn.