One more about #DyePlants...

21 Garden Plants to Use as Natural Dyes

You’ve heard of vegetable and cut flower gardens, but what about dye gardens? Dying yarn and fabrics with plant-based dyes allows you to create beautiful hues and develop a new appreciation for plants. If you’re not sure where to get started, join Briana Yablonski to learn 21 plants you can use as natural dyes.

Written by Briana Yablonski Horticulture review by Sarah Jay Last updated: May 1, 2024

"very so often, a new question strikes me. A few years ago, I found myself wondering how people transformed neutral-colored wool, cotton, and silk into shades of pink, blue, and yellow. I knew I could find synthetic dyes in tie-dye kits and commercial clothing factories, but I wondered how people colored their clothing, rugs, and linens before these products existed. Amazingly, many natural plant dyes can be grown right in our home gardens!

While not all natural dyes come from plants, there are more than a handful of flowers, leaves, and fruit that offer beautiful colors. Since dyeing is a chemical process strongly affected by pH, adding materials like soda and citric acid allows you to use one dye source to create multiple colors.

You’re welcome to experiment with natural plant dyes of any species, but some plants are known to produce particularly vibrant colors. Try dyeing with a few of the following plants to see the range of colors the botanical world offers."

Learn more:
https://www.epicgardening.com/natural-plant-dyes/

#SolarPunkSunday #DIY #FiberArts
#NaturalDyes #Dyes #PlantDyes #Amaranth #BachelorsButtons #BlackWalnut #ButterflyPea #Calendula #Canaigre #Cosmos #Goldenrod #Madder

How to Make #NaturalDyes in Every Color: A Step-by-Step Guide

Grace Waters - December 31, 2023

Excerpt: "Which Ingredients Will Make Which Colors?

You can use practically any plant, produce or spice to make a natural dye. Many of those ingredients are available year-round. Here’s how to make natural dyes with every color under the rainbow.

Red

Produce like raspberries, cherries, cranberries, and pokeberries will make rich dyes. You can also use hibiscus, rose, amaranth, and hollyhock plants. Most deeply red flower petals will produce saturated pigments. Beetroots will make a pink dye that is incredibly vibrant.

Orange

The flower calendula makes for a fantastic natural orange dye. To get that classic, bright color, use carrots or orange peels. Surprisingly, pomegranates can also produce deep orange hues.

Yellow

Tumeric is incredibly vibrant and easily stains. Ginger is another good spice, but it isn’t as bright. Flowers like goldenrod, yarrow, black-eyed Susan, and dandelions produce varying shades of yellow. You can also use lemon peels.

Green

You can use almost any plant’s stems and leaves to make a vibrant green color. Leafy greens like spinach also work well. If you want a very bright shade, you may have to add some blue.

Indigo

Blue flowers like bachelor buttons and Russian sage will create unique, rich hues. Of course, you can also use blueberries for a very dark dye. Red cabbage makes a classic, bright purple color. If you want something more saturated and subtle, use blackberries.

Brown

Red onion skin and #acorns can make light brown or tan dyes. If you want something darker, use #BlackWalnuts or used coffee beans."

Read more:
https://environment.co/how-to-make-natural-dyes/

#SolarPunkSunday #DIY #FiberArts #NaturalDyes #Dyes #Wildflowers #PlantDyes

Beginner’s Guide to Natural Dyes

By Ashley Adamant, Last Updated Feb 22, 2025, Published Oct 30, 2024

"Natural dyes are a fun way to experience the natural world, and plants, mushrooms, lichnes and moss not only decorate our world, they have hidden color inside that can dye fabrics, paper, wood and more. Whether you’re interested in a fun craft to do with your kids or if you’ve always wanted to change the color of your clothes on a whim, I’ll walk you through how to use natural materials to dye your fabrics."

Read more [include reference books!]:
https://practicalselfreliance.com/natural-dyes/

#SolarPunkSunday #DIY #FiberArts #NaturalDyes #Dyes #PlantDyes

Native Plant Dyes

"Plants have been used for natural dyeing since before recorded history. The staining properties of plants were noted by humans and have been used to obtain and retain these colors from plants throughout history. Native plants and their resultant dyes have been used to enhance people's lives through decoration of animal skins, fabrics, crafts, hair, and even their bodies.

"Types of Dyes

"Natural dye materials that produce durable, strong colors and do not require the addition of other substances to obtain the desired outcome are called substantive or direct dyes. Sumac (Rhus spp.) and walnut (Juglans spp.) are native plant examples of direct dyes. Because these species are high in tannic acid, they do not require additional substances to be added for the dye to attach to fibers and form a durable bond. Dyes that need this type of assistance are called adjective or mordant dyes.

"Mordants

"Mordants are water-soluble chemicals, usually metallic salts, which create a bond between dye and fiber thus increasing the adherence of various dyes to the item being dyed. The actual color one gets from a natural dye depends not only on the source of the dye but also on the mordant, and the item being dyed.

"Most mordant recipes also call for the addition of cream of tartar or tartaric acid. Use of this readily available spice is important because it reduces fiber stiffness that can occur because of mordanting. It can also increase brightness."

Learn more:
https://www.fs.usda.gov/wildflowers/ethnobotany/dyes.shtml

Archived version:
https://archive.ph/F3Dp3

#SolarPunkSunday #DIY #FiberArts #NaturalDyes #Gardening #Foraging #TraditionalArts #Ethnobotany #Dyes #Wildflowers #PlantDyes

@DoomsdaysCW Just found this page on dyeing with medicinal plants, from Herbal Revolution. Includes directions on process, mentions goldenrod. Thought you might find useful.

https://www.herbalrev.com/blogs/wellness/dyeing-with-medicinal-plants

#NaturalDyes
#PlantDyes
#Solarpunk

No, that's not pickled red cabbage - it's my first ever dyebath, using 100g of red onion skins. I'm going in (not literally).

I had no idea we ate that many onions.

#PlantDyes #Wool #NaturalDyes #FibreArts

#books shipping to new homes this morning.

#BookSelling #bookstodon #animals #baboons #neuroscience #adventure #narrative #travel #dyes #PlantDyes #medieval #chemistry