Tag: peach dye

22 May

Avocado Pits Dyed Silk

Amelia Hoskins / Dyes, Plant Dye / / 0 Comments

The silk, accurate colour: looks different in different lights;   In the shade it is more dusky pink, in sunlight - more creamy gold.  Dye absorption was very even.  Excellent appearance.

Avocado pits prior to using, were soaked for 3 days first

Avocado pits after using, saved for future re-use

Rinsing out silk after dyebath.

Silk drying after washing out

Hardly any colour washed out.  The take-up was good: this is because there is a natural mordant in the avocado pits.

Silk dried

Silk dried

This avocado dyed silk will blend well with creams, pinks, peaches and contrast with all other colours; jade greens, blues, blacks and greys.

Colour co-ordinations of new garments made with this silk and other patchwork fabrics will appear here when completed....
22 May

Ladies bedstraw Dyed Silk

Amelia Hoskins / Dye Plant Collection, Dyes, Plant Dye / / 0 Comments

Bedstraw is found in waste ground and near the coast. The reddish roots are used for dyeing; family is Madder (Rubiaceae) a well known red dye. The plant I found is growing along the Tarka Trail cycle path (ex rail track) opposite the small town of Bideford, N. Devon. Not easy to pull out the roots, and many were left for next year's growth. This seemed a particularly large and well established plant. Bedstraw has many herbal uses.

The roots have a strong pigment towards red-brown.  As the dye bath reduced, I noticed a good pinky red forming on the sides of the pan; possibly due to being aluminium; it may have absorbed the pink element of 'red', giving way to a more browny-peachy colour, even so a very bright peach from the strongest 1st soaking.

Ladies Bedstraw - Amazingly bright ruddy peach silk after removal from dye bath and rinsing

1st Bedstraw dyed silk sample has been pre-mordanted in Alum for a day before putting to soak in hand hot dye bath.  Although the roots were boiled up to release dye, boiling Ahimsa silk roughens it, so it was immersed in only a 'hot' bath.  Plant dye is often absorbed with no heating.

2nd Bedstraw dyed silk sample in cooled dye bath which was reheated with bedstraw to obtain more dyestuff.  Red dye liquid is drained off into glass bowl to soak silk.  Steam iron while still damp to help smooth out creases, or don't squeeze out all water.  Paler colours can be obtained by adding to remaining dye bath while some pigment remains unabsorbed.

Lady's Bedstraw Ahimsa silk results: 1st soak strong peach - 2nd soak light peach.

These samples will be matched with recycled fabric prints, and painted on before becoming part of a new garment; which will be added to this post in due course....

See more and others' dye procedures on my Natural Plant Dye Pinterest Board.

Images copyright Amelia Jane Hoskins Please email for use permission.