Natural Plant Dyeing

Gathering gloriosa daisy, a
cultivated form of blackeyed-
Susan, which results in yellows
and shades of green. A.
prepared for dyeing and gradually more useful color in it) when’ the last ’
change the temperat$re of the water skein of wool dyed is a very pale shade.
around them until it is bhe same as that of There is no reason to save these solutions.
the dyebath. Squeeze the excess wnier out However, if no more time is avaaable and +*I
of the. skeins a?d then poke them down a solution still seems quite strong, it can
into the dyebath solution until they are be stored for a short while in a covered
completely covered. Si~w MT,
for about !/! hour.
.do not hnil, o container in a cool place. Ferine.ntntion of
. z. the bath for a period of a month or SC
Remove the skeins from the dyepot and may give you a different color you like 01,
place ‘them in a container of ivater which may oply result in a.washed-out shade.
has been heated to the temperature of the ’ At the end of X workshop for adults ii
dyebath. Rinse well by using 8increasinglJ is good to give participants a small; sam
cooler water until the skeins ;are cool. Be plc of all the colors obtained. In advance
sure there is no more color coming fi=om prepare a sheet listing the,pl,ant materialr \
the wool. Squeeze dry and place on paper to be used and the basic mordants to bf
towels to dry thoroughly. Label imIncdi- tried with each. Punch a hole in the paper :
ately. (If there is still a good anlount of npposite each of these so that at the .enc’ r
dye in the bath it is possible to incor- it , will be easy. to tie in a piece of yarn
porate other additive mordants and nlore ‘I from each sample.
yarn ,to produce a broader range of cnlors For a children’s class it is more approor
shades.)? priate to do a final proj&? together such
Recipe 2 oi
as making a chart to be hung for reference
and @play. Use the skeins of dyed ,,
Plant materials to try with Recipe 2: yarn and plant .materials which yielded
-leaves ‘of rhododendron, lily-of-the-valley
(Convallaria), bayberry (Myrica) or
privet ( LigzMrunr)‘; sumac fruits; black
each color. Someone mig,ht use part of the
yarns to make a woven or needlepoint
sampler. Be sure to keep the yarns la-
. ”
wtlnut hulls; sassafras roots; logwood Med. j _ 1 ‘*
chips; oak bark, Finally, test the yarn samples for fast- ,’ ’
Chop up leaves or pulverize roots and
barks and soak overnight in enough water
ness. Expose .one half of each sample to
direct sunlight for a umonth or so #and then
to ‘cover them. Bring to a boil and boil compare the two halves to see which ‘!
vigorously for 45 minutes. Strain out colors have faded and which are fast. f
dyestuff or remove bag and add enough (,Src centerfold.) This also could be in- :
water to make a sol&ion, allowing one eluded in the classroom display. 1.
quart for each ounce of yarn t8 be dyed. Enthusiasm will very likely be generat-
Proceed as in Recipe I.
t .
Upon Completion
ed through a. child’s’ or ad&% ,flr$ experience
with natural dyeing.,The basic O
,c method of dyeing is not comfilicated, and ;
Clean up after each dyeing experinlent. - a variety of plant materials ma3 be used. ”
Usually a dyebath is “exhausted”*,(has
1:’
1
\
no Ha&
14
fun. Go “forth and “dye.‘!! ,+
9 - i
>’ . I_
n
I
, .
.._ .$-
” ‘,
I
’
_
,
c.
_.
i
b..
,
“. -i 2 - ‘= I ; _
_
;
,-.
‘.
1
I
,
0 * ,-
F
,
T
~