Natural dyes, what to grow?

[greenfamilyfarms]

Has anyone mentioned beets or purple cabbage?

 

[elevan]

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.

I don't boil (or dilute) when I use elderberries...I just juice the berries (takes quite a few) and dye with straight juice. Never had a problem with color leaching when using elderberries alone.

Depending on the fiber you can heat set your finished product to set the dye (if you're having leaching) using a hot iron. Don't want to do this on fibers that shrink easily though.

 

[elevan]

Has anyone mentioned beets or purple cabbage?

Beets are good.

I've found that purple cabbage kind of grays in the finished product...have you had this problem?

 

[greenfamilyfarms]

Has anyone mentioned beets or purple cabbage?

Beets are good.

I've found that purple cabbage kind of grays in the finished product...have you had this problem?

It's been a while, but I think I do remember it being purple-gray in color.

 

[ohiogoatgirl]

i'm very interested in making dyes. i'm about to get two white angora goats. and you cant just leave it all white!!! and i love all things natural... well i could do without some of the bugs but, ya know what i mean

we have these wild berries around here that are purple that as kids we used to dye our feet, etc. with em. they are poisonous if eaten so its not like they're getting used now. i think they are "pokeberry".

someone said something about the color bleeding all out. i have no dye-ing experience but if you get a stain on a shirt and it goes in the dryer without coming out then it "sets". so couldn't you dye the material, yarn, etc. and toss it in the clothes dryer? i don't know if that would work the same. just a thought.

i have this old reader's digest book that my gramma gave me. it has a section on natural dyes. here are the plants it has:

plant -mordants
coreopsis-alum
sophoria-tin and cream of tartar
goldenrod-alum
lily of the valley-alum-
lily of the valley-chrome
privet- alum
queen annes lace- alum
rhododendron- alum
rhododendron- iron sulphate
logwood-copperas
logwood- alum
onion skin - alum
smartweed- tin
marigold- alum
pokeberry- alum
madder- alum
butterfly weed- alum
tea- no mordant
coffee- no mordant
tobacco- alum
acorn- alum
acorn- copperas
indigo- alum

i have no idea what a mordant is. there is little pics next to each of the resulting color and it says how do each one. the book is "reader's digest, back to basics, how to learn and enjoy traditional american skills" copyright 1981 so it might not be the easiest to get a hold of.

now i gotta see what i can find on the internet!
good luck all!

 

[elevan]

Has anyone mentioned beets or purple cabbage?

Beets are good.

I've found that purple cabbage kind of grays in the finished product...have you had this problem?

It's been a while, but I think I do remember it being purple-gray in color.

Which is good if that's the color that you're after.

But it definitely bears mentioning that the color of the "dye" in nature is not necessarily the color that it will remain once applied to your "product".

 

[elevan]

The question is what to grow?...

But if you're not out by it...there are other resources that are natural dyes...such as certain bugs...I'm just saying...

 

[dragonlaurel]

Here's a chart you might like:
http://www.neuhsa.org/files/dye_garden_plant_list.htm

You' d still have to find info on which plants grow in your area.

 

[ohiogoatgirl]

here are some links i found:

plants by outcome color
http://www.pioneerthinking.com/naturaldyes.html

"plants to grow and collect for dyeing" it's toward the bottom of the page
http://www.kidsgardening.com/growingideas/projects/may03/pg1.html#chart

http://www.allfiberarts.com/cs/dyeplants.htm

 

[kelsey2017]

Ha ha I forgot I started this thread! So glad I found it again, lol. In the meantime I found a chapter in my grandpa's Foxfire book. The folks interviewed in there were pretty primitive and used just salt, vinegar and copper something for mordants (sorry I have to go get the book which I will) I will list all the recipes but most of them are pretty basic and things you could find growing around although mostly in the Appalachians!