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

Amaranth tassel spiral bundle dyed on Erin

Amaranth Coil bundle dyed

Using very long amaranth tassels, 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.

[To do... Nov. 2025 next test will be soaking amaranth in apple cider vinegar made from red apple skin which gives a pink dye.]

Silk would have been pre soaked in Aluminium Sulphate.

Amaranth wet wool result The wool was tied in a loop for submersion in jar with both the initial August and the additional October Amaranth. Hard to tell if the browny patch was upper or lower, whether vinegar or water caused

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 pink-mauve and straw in continuous yarn (see the two tones on removal from dye jar): is likely where the vinegar separated from the pond water...

LEFT sample Cream Gold colour is a Sumac flower dyed sample

Growing Amaranth on west facing path in pots

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Images copyright Amelia Jane Hoskins Please email for use permission.