do you have any recommendations on places to read up about natural dyeing? i know my way around a rit bottle but plants is THE big hole in my dyeing knowledge and it’s making me look bad in front of the other fiber art nerds 😭😭😭
OH YES YES YES YESSSS I DO I ABSOLUTELY DO HANG ON LET ME NERODIVERGENTLY INFODUMP
THE best dye book for natural dye I've found is Wild Color by Jenny Dean. The book is aboslutely a worthwhile buy but she also has a blog where much of the information is available for free.
Using natural plant dyes
The book though. Get the book. I'm serious, it's so good. Easily available on secondhand book stores and can be ordered by any book store for you. It's so good. Clear instructions, excellent photos, easy to reference and use, it's widely agreed to be the best available by weirdos who like to natural dye.
This is basically our holy text.
Cultivating a Creative Life
Myra is also absolutely incredible. She has a step by step youtube channel that is just. The best.
Hey there! I'm Myra, a natural dyer with nearly 30 years of experience. I'm obsessed with transforming fiber into bright, bold, and vibrant
Clear instructions, easy to follow, cannot reccomend enough she's great. Her mother helped write and illustrated THIS.
By the late, great Miriam C. Rice, with illustrations by Dorothy M. Beebee. Back by popular demand! This book details the history, developme
Which is THE first and definitive book on dyes from fungi and mushrooms and also a must read.
A blog by Catharine Ellis
Catherine Ellis is also an absolute treasure trove of knowledge and how to guides. I consult her blog frequently for specific plant details in temperature, PH, ect.
Online workshops specializing in natural dyes and textile techniques. Est 2004.
Maiwa is also an invaluable resource. They also sell a wide array of natural dye stuffs and fibers, as well as fair trade sustainable fiber art items sourced from various at risk fiber arts traditions around the globe.
Some notes from me, source my own trial and error;
Never let the pot boil. Ever. Don't boil any plant dye. If it's an INSECT dye, like cochineal, you can and should just boil the shit out of it actually, but keeping the pot steaming but juuuuust below a simmer seems to be the sweet spot for every plant material i've tried.
Water hardness makes a huge difference with certain dyes. Madder root absolutely adores hard water, for instance, and will not work well in soft water. Cochineal and lac dye will not work as well in hard water and do great in soft water. Others dye fine in either, but the water hardness will affect the PH of the water and that in turn can affect the dye color. Hard water tends to be alkaline. Mine can limescale a kettle up in two weeks and has a PH of about 8. If I'm working with certain things and want a neutral ph I have to correct that with vinegar. Get some PH test strips you WILL want them.
I find that you get a good dye color on most things in far less than the whole hour it is often reccomend to simmer fiber in a dye bath, so check frequently and be prepared to pull the fiber when it's where you want it color wise. Black eyed susans, for example; I see it mentioned that you have to soak them in the dye bath overnight to get color, but I find I get a good color in 45 minutes in the dye bath every time no problem.
Once you start looking you see dye potential Everywhere. People are usually cool with you picking the 'weeds' from their yards (Wild carrot/Queen anne's lace and goldenrod both make GORGEOUS yellows) so long as you ask first, and when you tell them why you want them they're usually very interested and think you're cool.
