Natural dyes

Have you ever walked into the yarn section and your senses light up like a pinball machine with all the beautiful colors and textures? Even through you don't knit, you think about taking it up so you can buy a skein of something? It happens to me all the time and resist the urge because ... duh, I DO not need another project.

 

You know how some things just fascinate you, although you know you will probably never participate in doing it? I was watching something the other night and there was a segment on a wool artist and her talking about the process of dyeing her own wool. Not something I want to do, but I LOVE looking at the final results and lovely, subtle colors. It is so interesting to see what you can use to create a natural dye. 

From a Beautiful Mess, Experimenting with Natural Dyes, and well, they are dyeing linen, which I would love to try. 

Avocado Pits=light peachy pink on linen, light peach on silk, light blush on wool
Marigolds=light yellow on cotton and linen, olive green when used with iron
Turmeric=bright tangerine on linen, bright yellow when mixed with white vinegar
Yellow Onion Skins=warm orange on linen
Red Onion Skins=grayish purple on linen
Madder Root=bright rust on linen
Cochineal=bright cranberry on linen and silk
Hibiscus=a cool pink on linen

 
This book look like an interesting introduction to the process: Botanical Colour at you Fingertips.
 

This is from Kiliko.com 

Yellow 
chamomile - pale yellow birch leaves - pale yellow
goldenrod - sunny yellow
purple budleja - sunny yellow
marigolds - sunny yellow  

Green
marigolds - olive green with iron
birch leaves - olive green with iron
nettles - pale green, pale grey with iron
ferns - light green to red-pink  

Orange and pink
rhododendron leaves - pale orange (toxic)
willow leaves - orange-red
firethorn berries - orange-red
bracken fern
hibiscus flowers - orange-red to light blue-green 

Purple and Blue
mahonia berries - purple
elderberries - pale purple
oak galls - grey-purple with iron
ligustrum berries - blue (toxic)
black hollyhock - blue to grey

Brown and Grey
oak leaves - beige, grey with iron
acorns - brown-beige, grey with iron
alder cones - brown-beige, grey with iron
walnut leaves - deep brown
walnut skins - deep brown  

Kitchen waste
turmeric - yellow
pomegranate skins - yellow
onion skins - orange
avocado skins and pits - pink
black tea, coffee - beige-brown
rosemary - grey
sage - pale green
….and two lovely but very fugitive colors
red cabbage - purple
black beans - grey-blue 

Feast your eyes on these dye colors!

NatureColorsEU on Etsy. Dyers’ Coreopsis (Coreopsis tinctoria) over on Wild Colours, also lots of history on dye colors.

Lots of fun dyes on Hooked and Dyed, Hollyhock, carrot tops , mushrooms! Who knew!