Coreopsis - collected from two pots, dead-headed over a few months (and stored in the freezer)
The dry fabric (top left), a third batch of dye left to soak for only a few hours (top right) and how it looks after being dipped in iron oxide (bottom)
Fabric dyed with Lady’s Mantle drying on the line
Dyeing with rhubarb root
The lovely soft colours of dyeing with acorns
After being interested in the idea of natural dyes for a while now, this summer - with more time at home at weekends - I’ve finally dipped my toe in the waters (or dye bath) of starting to experiment with creating dyes from plants. I don’t have an end result in mind, I’m just fascinated by the process of creating new colours from natural materials.
I prepared a few metres of cotton lawn (scouring the fabric and then mordanting it with Alum) and then have been dyeing fabric swatches over the past few months. I’m learning as I go along (from books and lots of really useful online content shared by other natural dyers) but I’ve found the slow process of learning a new skill through ‘doing’ to be very absorbing. I started with rhubarb root (a pinky-ochre) and then moved onto mulberries (pale grey, not the purple you would expect) and Lady’s Mantle (a strong yellow-ochre). Buddleia (bright yellow) and Coreopsis (strong orange) provided the most dramatic results, but I’m very pleased with the soft browns of acorns.
The fabric does take on colour in a cold dye bath but heating the fabric up in the dye bath definitely gives more intense results. I’m also starting to experiment with dipping some of the dyed fabric into second mordants - iron oxide (made with rusty nails and vinegar) dulls colours, some more dramatically than others; vinegar lightens colours and bicarbonate of soda darkens them a little. So you can get quite a colour palette from one dye bath.