Amaranth Pink

Amelia Hoskins / Dye Plants / / 0 Comments

Amaranth Tassels - Testing for Pink Dye

This year I grew amaranth from seed, and they thrived in west facing pots.  Tassels get quite long, if left through to August.  By September they are still good, but starting to 'seed'. I made a dye jar in August, and after use, reused it by adding more to it in October.  Tassels soak in jar of pond water for at least a week.

Amaranth dye jar

Silk in dye jar

Bundle dyed Tassels coiled on Erin silk

< The coiled bundle result looked promising as the pink went onto the silk, but it didn't fix well and the silk dried to a very pale patchy white-pink.   Maybe if silk was soaked in vinegar first, it would adhere better.

 

The wool was tied in a loop for submersion in jar.  Hard to tell if the browny patch was upper or lower... Is the brown non-vinegar? >

Wet result wool

Shetland wool being removed from dye jar

Dyed result PINK! Plus Sumac dyed wool

 

Advice from blogs stated use vinegar. I added white wine vinegar to pond water, but yet to try only vinegar.

Two tones; straw and pink: is likely where the vinegar separated from the pond water...

Gold colour is a Sumac flower dyed sample

Growing Amaranth on west facing path in pots

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