# Natural Dying



## Nellie (Oct 18, 2006)

I'm just fascinated with PKboo's dying method on the other thread, with the Queen Anne's Lace. 

Somebody else mentioned using lichen; what kind, how much, with what mordant??? 

Any other cool natural dyes of common stuff you have growing in your back 40?


----------



## mamajohnson (Nov 27, 2002)

ok, I am gonna ask here too - what is Lichen??? :shrug:

I have been thinking about what we have here, I have Sumac, Sassafras, and poke salad too if I look hard. but other than trees/brush I don't have much else. oh, stinging nettles... I know that when I steep those for teas/medicines they put off a greenish color. (same with sassafras)
Will have grapes soon. Wonder if DH will let me use them for dye instead of jelly?????


----------



## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

Lichen is sort of like a tree mold but it isn't a mold. Here is a link with tons of pictures http://tinyurl.com/359wrux some are better for dying with than others.


----------



## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

Here is a wiki page on lichen http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lichen


----------



## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

This looks like a great group on rav, for learning all about dyeing w/ plants.

I am NOT going to start reading it right now, but it looks chock full of yumminess..
http://www.ravelry.com/discuss/plants-to-dye-for/topics


also this one...
http://www.ravelry.com/groups/natural-dyeing


----------



## Katherine in KY (May 11, 2002)

Hey guys, I know we're all going to do it, hopefully later rather than sooner, but I think you're discussing natural dyEing  The QAL came out a really nice yellow. I was thinking of trying it this year, but after two shawls of naturally dyed yellow yarn, I'm kind of sick of yellow. And yesterday I cut my woad plants which are wilting in the heat, followed the instructions to the letter, was expecting a nice blue, and got....yellow! I'm so disgusted that I think I'm going back to chemical dyeing for awhile. I do have jars of black hollyhock flowers and anthemis tinctoria sitting in the sun. The hollyhocks are giving a really nice purply black, but the last time I did this it rinsed out to gray. The anthemis is yellow again, but I knew it would be that and only did a little. For those dyeing with lichens, a lot of people council against it because they're so slow-growing and relatively rare (at least the ones that give color). But if you're collecting them from firewood or where there's really a lot of one kind, I don't see much harm in harvesting a little. I'm giving up naturally dyeing for a while, but I know I'll be back; I just love getting color from plants in my garden. BTW one of my favorites is mullein which gives a nice green.


----------



## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

Katherine, you crack me up. 

Yellow= pollen (for me). 

I would be dying while dyeing. 
Especially chamomile and QAL. Ahchoo!
Cant imagine wearing that stuff on my skin.
Something to consider when gifting your handknits?

Mullein is for ear oil, at my house.


----------



## PKBoo (Apr 10, 2008)

mamajohnson said:


> ok, I am gonna ask here too - what is Lichen??? :shrug:


mamaj - I posted some links over in the other thread too. (I'm a science teacher, so I LOVE this stuff!!!) Lichens are actually 2 organisms that live together - a fungus and algae. The fungus mycelium (strands) are tangled around alga cells, and they are inseparable, so they don't exist apart. They are what's called a 'pioneer species' - they are the first to appear on rocks and bare areas. Here's a great example of a couple of different species on tombstones:
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.open.ac.uk/Nature_Trail/Images/Lichen2.gif&imgrefurl=http://www.open.ac.uk/Nature_Trail/Lichen.htm&usg=__N1b3x05RyMRjs_frkLHjPcdGGPQ=&h=193&w=252&sz=53&hl=en&start=50&sig2=txCRT_mSP_blQR3nJs9EeA&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=5T9hV-K5OzBc4M:&tbnh=85&tbnw=111&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dlichen%26start%3D40%26tbnid%3DRQeFV26KI_SMLM:%26tbnh%3D0%26tbnw%3D0%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26rlz%3D1T4SKPB_enUS368US368%26imgtype%3Di_similar%26ndsp%3D20%26tbs%3Disch:1&ei=T31XTLDGB4H88AazteyPAw

Here's a great website too. It explains the different types of lichens:
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/interesting/lichens/biology/images/crustose_lichens_lg.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/interesting/lichens/biology/growthforms.shtml&usg=__GOs81JmvVTPAfqweC6EYUA1SEfc=&h=511&w=800&sz=240&hl=en&start=79&sig2=FWVOaBahtPn3Wfyza_vctg&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=wYNNti7-e5LYWM:&tbnh=91&tbnw=143&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dlichen%26start%3D60%26tbnid%3DRQeFV26KI_SMLM:%26tbnh%3D0%26tbnw%3D0%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26rlz%3D1T4SKPB_enUS368US368%26imgtype%3Di_similar%26ndsp%3D20%26tbs%3Disch:1&ei=231XTMeFHML68AbdjKWCAQ


----------



## PKBoo (Apr 10, 2008)

GAM - I've learned so much from those sites! They are great resources.

Katherine - a woman in a yarn store told me that 80% of plants will give a color; and 80% of those plants will give yellow... (don't know if that's true, but it seems like it!)

I'm going to try jewelweed next - it's supposed to give orange/peach. The synthetic dyes are easiest - no prep. But to use natural dyes, you have to use a mordant - it causes the plant pigments to stick to the wool fibers. If you don't use a mordant, the color will just wash away. 

The easiest mordant is the alum & cream of tartar mixture. You can buy these in the grocery store. Iron is also a mordant - you can just let some nails sit in rainwater until it turns a rusty color and use that. Copper and tin are also used, but they can be difficult to dispose of - you definitely don't want to dump them down your drain!

Here's another helpful website:
http://www.pioneerthinking.com/naturaldyes.html


----------



## frazzlehead (Aug 23, 2005)

Tansy is a noxious weed hereabouts - as in, you gotta cut it down or you get a registered letter asking you to do so.  Makes a lovely green dye!

I use copper sulfate for mordant, because I have it on hand for sheep foot dip (it stops and treats foot rot, so I got a big bag of it at the feed store). 

Sunflowers, yarrow, and tansy all make dyes in varying shades of green with copper sulfate mordant. I have a mission to try canada thistle - that stuf HAS to be good for something! 

Onion skins give a nice tan colour. 

I found a crock pot for $4 at the thrift shop, so it's my new dye pot! I can plug it in outside and simmer my plants without stinking up my house (tansy smells like pickles, only weirder). 

The Dyers Garden is great book for those interested in natural dyes.


----------



## Ana Bluebird (Dec 8, 2002)

Love to do natural dyes just to see what I get. Have any of you done beets? I just totally love the color---a peach. Around here the elderberries are coming on---a purple color. Of course, hedge (osage orange) wood chips don't need a mordant and you can get anything from bright yellow to orange. Then, of course, got to do walnut hulls--no mordant---can get variegation so easily and they look so pretty--anything from beige to dark brown (of course your hands might be brown too if you aren't careful.) What fun!


----------



## Sully (Feb 29, 2008)

When I was "into" reenacting, I hand dyed most of my clothing and leathers. Black walnut hulls was my favorite. Nice smoky brown. Used a rusty nail in the batch as a mordant.

Remember a guy bragging about his new hand-dyed buckskins at a rendevous. He had used something-something and cow urine. He wasn't bragging anymore when it started to rain. Smelled like the worst old feedlot ! He had to throw away his new shirt and leggins'.
Have to admit I ended up using Rit berries alot. Laziness.


----------



## Wisconsin Ann (Feb 27, 2007)

Copper bright can be had with some of the dyes by dropping a few copper pennies in the dyepot. Works quite well. 

Some may find http://www.regia.org/members/dyeproject.html an interesting read.


----------



## girlwithasword (Aug 10, 2009)

ooh, thanks for the link to that ravelry group  I mostly dye silk, but am interested in doing some wool. ditchweed (hemp) makes a nice dye. I"ve gotten green and gold from it in different years.


----------



## Nellie (Oct 18, 2006)

Ok, I have tons of tansy... what parts do I use? The leaves? Flowers? Both? Maybe I should spray the exhausted dye bath on my roses when I'm done dyeing to kill the aphids....  

OH NO!!!! The question is..... DO I HAVE ANY MORE WHITE WOOL LEFT??????


----------



## Wisconsin Ann (Feb 27, 2007)

Another site with links to yet OTHER dyeing sites is: http://www.textilelinks.com/dye/natinfo.html

and allfiberarts.com is great for info on various things..like..LICHENS: http://www.allfiberarts.com/library/aa99/aa081399.htm

if anyone is interested in knitting slippers, dyeing, and felting...you might like: http://www.allfiberarts.com/library/aa05/aa090105.htm

I keep forgetting JUST how much info is on allfiberarts.com.


----------



## PKBoo (Apr 10, 2008)

Nellie said:


> The question is..... DO I HAVE ANY MORE WHITE WOOL LEFT??????


I hear ya Nellie! I've been washing and spinning all the white wool I have so I can play with dyeing more! The son of a friend of mine is coming next week for a day of dyeing so back to the wheel haha! :icecream:

Ann - thanks for all the great links! Can't wait to explore them (after I'm done with all my white wool)


----------



## frazzlehead (Aug 23, 2005)

Nellie, I use the whole tops of the tansy. You might get different results if you took just the flower heads - I dunno, try it and tell us what happens! 

Smells kinda like weird pickles when it boils, so do it outside if you can. Simmer the flowers for awhile, let it cool/soak overnight (or less, whatever, you'll get colour regardless but if it can soak longer it gets more colour) then filter out the mushy plant bits and use the resulting liquid as the dyebath.


----------



## Nellie (Oct 18, 2006)

Sully said:


> Remember a guy bragging about his new hand-dyed buckskins at a rendevous. He had used something-something and cow urine. He wasn't bragging anymore when it started to rain. Smelled like the worst old feedlot ! He had to throw away his new shirt and leggins'.


ound:


Ok, and how does one collect cow urine? I had a doozy of a time collecting our dog's urine, had to tape a paper cup to a flyswatter and take him for a walk so he would mark stuff, and then try to get the cup in the stream... it was crazy. Tie a bucket to a shovel??? Oh my, the mental images.....


----------



## Nellie (Oct 18, 2006)

So, what would happen if you used an iron pot to dye the wool in? Assuming you used something that needed an iron mordant? Would that work?


----------



## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

I think it would work Nellie. Only problem is you may not be able to use that pot again for food.


----------



## Nellie (Oct 18, 2006)

Ok, I have QAL cooking in the crock pot. I'm going to get some alum tomorrow. Now, can I use the crock pot with the alum? Or is that going to ruin the crock pot for food use? 

If I used QAL or Tansy, in an iron pot, why would that ruin the pot for food use? 

(I used to drive my mom nuts with questions.....)


----------



## mamajohnson (Nov 27, 2002)

Nellie, I don't think alum would ruin the crockpot. Alum used to be used in pickles if I remember correctly.
But I use it to tan hides... curious that it is also a mordant. I am surprised ya'll find it in the grocery store! I have to search all over to find it out here. In fact, the last time I got it I had to order it online.


----------



## Wisconsin Ann (Feb 27, 2007)

Alum is in the spice section of the grocery store. A bit pricey that way, but it's still not expensive.


----------



## frazzlehead (Aug 23, 2005)

Mamaj, don't people make pickles in Texas?  Alum's used to help pickles stay crunchy. Maybe you just need to look next to the pickling spice!

Nellie, people generally say to keep your food and dyeing materials separate - you may not get everything cleaned out of the pot, and some of the mordants and herbs are toxic.

Of course if you used koolaid, it wouldnt' matter, but thinking what's on the wool nevermind what tansy does to a body .... I'll use a separate pot.

I actually got a cheap ugly old crock pot at the thrift store JUST to use for fibre work.


----------



## mamajohnson (Nov 27, 2002)

ok, I saw a comment on the fiberguild list I am on about Woad. Anyone heard of that?? I did some research on it, and think I may have to give that a try when (_notice I said when_) I start dying yarn/roving. I love the color! Blues are my favorites anyways...
http://www.woad.org.uk/index.html

Check it out!


----------



## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

Be careful, Woad is considered a noxious weed in some states and is NOT allowed. You may want to check with your extension agent first.


----------



## Ellen West (Sep 17, 2010)

This webside came up in the hoola-hoop/wagon wheel rug thread - it's so interesting, I thought it deserved a fresh airing...



Wisconsin Ann said:


> Another site with links to yet OTHER dyeing sites is: http://www.textilelinks.com/dye/natinfo.html
> 
> and allfiberarts.com is great for info on various things..like..LICHENS: http://www.allfiberarts.com/library/aa99/aa081399.htm
> 
> ...


----------



## lambs.are.cute (Aug 15, 2010)

I had to do a presentation in college about plants, so I figured it was an excuse to do more natural dyeing. I just went out and collected what ever was in my garden and weeds from around. Just prepared the dye bath, then dyed. I had no idea what color it would come out so only did a handful but it was really fun. I got a lot of yellows and gray/browns but managed to get a yellow/green! It was a lot of fun to see what color would come out.


----------



## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

While cleaning and packing I found a note card I made. I'm not sure what workshop this was from. On it is a piece of beautiful moss green (army green) yarn and a note that says, " Birch leaves w/ copper on gray wool". I can't remember dyeing this but maybe I did. It's really a pretty color if you like that color, I do.


----------

