# Dyeing basic Question Where do you purchase



## mama879 (Jan 27, 2011)

Your natural dyes from I just started reading up dyeing and want to start looking so any info you can give me would be appreciated as usual.


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## JuneB (Oct 10, 2014)

I have used pokeberry that gave me a pretty pink.... moss that gave me an earthy green ... goldenrod and onion peels gave me a earthy yellow ... was pretty neat and coffee ground would give you a brown I never got a blue purple or red those are regal colors I guess


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## Conchalea (Dec 30, 2013)

I've read turmeric gives a golden color. Chili powder dyes to yellow. Tea can be used for a sepia color. Red cabbage MAY give a pink to lavender color. Not sure about that one, at all. If I find others I'll post them.


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## Cdambro (Dec 30, 2013)

I have been watching YouTube videos on natural dyes and tumeric gave a really nice yellow. The one I saw with onion skins was very light. I know someone who grows dandelions just for dyeing and had really pretty yellow yarn from them. From the videos I watched, it seems like real vivid colors are harder to get. Looking forward to seeing other replies.


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## desireeross (Jun 2, 2013)

I found this useful info

Orange: carrots, gold lichen, onion skins
Brown: dandelion roots, oak bark, walnut hulls, tea, coffee, acorns
Pink: berries, cherries, red and pink roses, avocado skins and seeds (really!)
Blue: indigo, woad, red cabbage, elderberries, red mulberries, blueberries, purple grapes, dogwood bark
Red-brown: pomegranates, beets, bamboo, hibiscus (reddish color flowers), bloodroot
Grey-black: Blackberries, walnut hulls, iris root
Red-purple: red sumac berries, basil leaves, day lilies, pokeweed berries, huckleberries
Green: artichokes, sorrel roots, spinach, peppermint leaves, snapdragons, lilacs, grass, nettles, plantain, peach leaves
Yellow: bay leaves, marigolds, sunflower petals, St John's Wort, dandelion flowers, paprika, turmeric, celery leaves, lilac twigs, Queen Anne's Lace roots, mahonia roots, barberry roots, yellowroot roots, yellow dock roots

https://www.diynatural.com/natural-fabric-dyes/


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## mama879 (Jan 27, 2011)

I have been looking to purchase some powders for some of the harder ones to find will post some that I find later thanks ladies. I also read about red onions to.


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## mama879 (Jan 27, 2011)

Thank you some easier to find ones. I just started looking into dyeing. Might want to try in the summer.


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## Goodshepfarm (Jul 20, 2014)

mama879 said:


> Your natural dyes from I just started reading up dyeing and want to start looking so any info you can give me would be appreciated as usual.


I used rhubarb leaves and got this pretty yellow. Do your homework first please, because the leaves are poisonous, so I used my acid dye pots/tools.

I have tons of rhubarb, so if anyone wants leaves once it comes up let me know. I think the shipping cost in US would only run about $3.00

~Michelle


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## Conchalea (Dec 30, 2013)

As to indigo, it has a complex procedure & can require special mordants. To dye with it the item has to be pulled out of the dye bath in order to oxidize the indigo, returned for darker color, & pulled out again. Repeat until it is the color you want. This wil probably take experimentation, as the color can wash out. Think of how jeans fade!


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## Cdambro (Dec 30, 2013)

Goodshepfarm said:


> I used rhubarb leaves and got this pretty yellow. Do your homework first please, because the leaves are poisonous, so I used my acid dye pots/tools.
> 
> I have tons of rhubarb, so if anyone wants leaves once it comes up let me know. I think the shipping cost in US would only run about $3.00
> 
> ~Michelle


That is a very pretty shade of yellow, Michelle.


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## Teardrop (Oct 23, 2011)

desireeross said:


> I found this useful info
> 
> Orange: carrots, gold lichen, onion skins
> Brown: dandelion roots, oak bark, walnut hulls, tea, coffee, acorns
> ...


Thank you so much for this link. I have never bothered to dye with natural plants because many times you had to use very dangerous things to set the color.


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## BirchPoint (Feb 12, 2016)

Please also remember that some of the above natural dyes do fade quicker than you may like. There are some good books out there, and if it's a good book, the author should have done a fade test and reported on it. Natural dying is fun, good mordanting can be done with alum, which is not terribly toxic, and outdoor time collecting supplies is always good.


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## JoeA (Jun 24, 2016)

These ladies have given you some great resources, may I recommend you also check out Pinterest, and do a search on fiber dyeing? Lots of great ideas there lately.


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## Cheryl Straub (Mar 20, 2014)

There are lichens that when place in alcohol will make a lovely purple. Red onion skins make a lovely yellow dye. You can grow woad, weld and madder that are the 3 main European dye plants. Woad can be a weed so pick all of it the first year it grows so as not to let it go to seed. Osage orange trees make an orange color. The mordant you use will effect the color of the dye greatly. One of the safest mordants is alum. If you want to darken or make your yellows look olive green add a rusty nail to the water. Iron saddens the colors (darkens). Anything with tannin will dye brown or tan without a mordent. It too can be used as a mordent. There are a number of good books that will help you with natural dyes.


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## shepherd (Feb 25, 2012)

It is the mordants that worry me re: natural dyes


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## Cathy B (May 15, 2014)

My husband bought me a starter kit from Blue Castle Fiber Arts. I have not tried the dyes. I am waiting for warmer weather so that I can dye outside. I could not actually find a kit per se, he may have just ordered me one of everything. http://www.bluecastlefiberarts.com/blue-castle-natural-dyes.html
Here is a review from someone who has used their dyes. And I do agree with her about the smell coming from the box. http://www.simplynotable.com/2012/review-blue-castle-fiber-arts-dye-kit/


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## sockyarn (Jan 26, 2011)

First you need to research natural dying. I am sure your library has books you can read through. It is a very interesting subject. Also there a website that have information on where you can get prepared natural dyes and how to use them.


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## mousepotato (May 30, 2011)

Try Dharma Trading Co. or the line of Greener Shades from Still River Mill in CT. Rita Buchanan wrote a book on natural dyeing that's still around. Title doesn't come to mind at the moment. She's retired now from this sort of stuff, darn it, but her book is one of the bibles on natural dyes.


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## Spindoctor (Sep 6, 2016)

Pinks/purples from berries will light fade quickly. Cochineal is used for pinks, madder for orange reds/oranges. There are tons of books on natural dyeing. Blues from indigo or indigo containing plants (like Japanese knotweed). Everything except indigo will require a mordant to chemically bond the color to the wool (and yes, they are toxic). Alum is the least toxic--do not use canning alum, you need to use dyer's alum. Always have designated dye pots (never use for cooking again).


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## kittygritty (Mar 2, 2015)

desireeross said:


> I found this useful info
> 
> Orange: carrots, gold lichen, onion skins
> Brown: dandelion roots, oak bark, walnut hulls, tea, coffee, acorns
> ...


Great link, thanks. I recall a KPer used turmeric and it turned out beautifully. Sort of a dark golden color.


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## mama879 (Jan 27, 2011)

This is one place I found to purchase. https://www.theyarntree.com/
I also have a few books I have downloaded and a DVD from Interweave half way through watching it. Great reading and watching. I'm also going to use marigolds in the fall. Yes I plan on reading everything I can before I even buy anything just making notes on where and what and what I need to get started When I start I will be using the back porch outside. I most likely do the washing and prep of the wool one day and dye the next. Some of the naturals need to set over night then strained. Then the heat to 190 degrees then 40 to 45 mins at a simmer then dry then rinse. I usually just don't jump in all the time I do my home work.


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## mama879 (Jan 27, 2011)

This is a cool site.
http://missreenaknits.blogspot.ca/search?updated-max=2016-03-28T11%3A50%3A00-03%3A00&max-results=7


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## martyr (Feb 15, 2011)

I am a hopeful dyer - I have some bare yarn and few skeins I want to overdye, but i just haven't gotten to it yet. So many projects and patterns and crafts calling to me. :sm04: When I do I plan to use Koolaid, and one of the many videos from ChemKnits. Here is link to 31 of her dyeing 'experiments/tutorials' - she uses mostly Koolaid and food coloring, which seems to be the right place to start, for me. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4CF3647B304964B7 Will be interested in yours. :sm17: :sm09:


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## plumhurricane (Dec 9, 2012)

I have heard it is not acceptable to use lichens as they take many years to regenerate which would upset the balance of nature. Some creatures depend on them. I don't remember which.


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## painthoss (Jul 10, 2012)

Cathy B said:


> My husband bought me a starter kit from Blue Castle Fiber Arts. I have not tried the dyes. I am waiting for warmer weather so that I can dye outside. I could not actually find a kit per se, he may have just ordered me one of everything. http://www.bluecastlefiberarts.com/blue-castle-natural-dyes.html
> Here is a review from someone who has used their dyes. And I do agree with her about the smell coming from the box. http://www.simplynotable.com/2012/review-blue-castle-fiber-arts-dye-kit/


Thanks for posting this, Cathy B. I am enjoying reading everyone's perspectives on the subject. I took a natural dyeing course years ago, and at the end of the course vowed never to mess with it again. 
The mordants and some of the dyestuffs were toxic enough that even though I was making my living as a bench chemist and therefore used to personal protective equipment, I did not want to do this in my house. 
the dyed yarn often smelled bad practically permanently. I love turmeric and cumin but do not want to carry it around all day. 
I didn't like the resulting colors at all. This is strictly a matter of tastes, which vary. Mine have certainly changed since then and I might like them now. However, a vendor at the NJ fiber festival recently offered natural dyed yarns and fiber, and boy was it sad looking, and not getting a lot of purchases.
Finally, natural dye colors usually fade quickly. That last comment is rather ironic in light of the previous one, and reminds me of the opinion on Army cooking: it's bad and there is not enough of it. 
:sm06: :sm09: Please note that these are all my opinions, and if you want to try it, go for it and I wish you much enjoyment and success, and please show us your yarn.


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