Category: Dye Plants

28 Oct

Dahlia dyed Silks

Amelia Hoskins / Dye Plants, Plant Dye / / 0 Comments

DAHLIA yellow dye

I thought dahlias would give pink, but NO, golden yellow.  The centre yellow gives a strong yellow dye.  Petals are soaked firstly for days, then heated gently, before adding silk.

Dahlias being press dried

27 Oct

Sumac Flower Dye – Salmon Pink

Amelia Hoskins / Dye Bath Processes, Dye Plants, Uncategorised / / 0 Comments

Sumac flowers from Sumac Tree. Pointed cone flowers.

They start red, but these were picked when russet, in October.  Soak flowers in water until dye appears. I leave these for a few weeks before adding fabric.  Silks Habotai and Erin were soaked for a few days amongst the flower seeds.

26 Oct

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

10 Sep

All Natural Plant Dye Processes

Amelia Hoskins / Dye Plants, Plant Dye / / 0 Comments

CREAM  -  GOLD  -  BLUE   on Ahimsa Silk

 

 

 

Most plant dyes produce cream or gold, dyed cold or hot.  They can be modified to turn darker and some modified to turn green. Mordants are used to soak silk in first.  Modifiers are used after dye.  Blue is only achieved with English Woad.

 

Dyed samples:     Logwood purple - Eucalyptus deep gold - Woad blue - Mullein light gold - Woad blue - Hawthorn gold beiges - Iron modified - Ladies Bedstraw orange

Flora Arbuthnot's Dye Workshop

My dye experiments were inspired by first workshop attended.  We foraged locally for leaves and bark. Flora taught us about mordants to soak fabric in prior to dyeing.  See samples on Post.

Flora Arbuthnot's Bundle Dye Workshop

Bundle dyeing by steam was a quick workshop at a garden festival. Petals and seeds were spread on cloth, sprayed with vinegar, folded in tightly wrapped bundles and suspended over steaming pot.  Excellent results for backgrounds, seen on this Post background.  See samples on Post.

Images copyright Amelia Jane Hoskins Please email for use permission.