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Following this guide you will learn how to dye wool using
vegetable dyes to create a range of soft natural colours.
Things your will need
You will need an old saucepan, though you should not use
aluminium or iron if you want a particular shade. Other
things required are cream of tartar, alum, salt, dye materials,
soap flakes, wool and water. This guide is for 50g of
wool, though you could use more for larger quantities.
Getting started
Prepare the wool: Wind the wool and tie it loosely. Wash
it using washing-up liquid or mild soap flakes and then
rinse the wool.
Mordant (seal) the wool: Dissolve half a teaspoon of
cream of tartar and a dessertspoon of alum in some water.
Add this to a saucepan containing two pints of water.
Add the wet wool, then warm the water to just below boiling
point and simmer for an hour, occassionally stirring it.
After removing the wool, squeeze it gently without rinsing
and keep it in a plastic bag until you have prepared the
dye bath.
Dye the Wool
To make the dye, boil the material you
have chosen to make the dye from and then strain it. Below
are a number of examples that you could try.
Onion skins to make gold dye: Take the brown outer skins
from eight onions and gently boil them in water for fifty
minutes. Strain the clear amber liquid to make a pint.
To dye the mordanted wool in this liquid, simmer it for
thirty minutes without boiling. After removing the wool,
wash it in a series of baths going from hot to cold. Finally
dry the wool whilst it is still wound up and then wind
it up into a ball ready for use.
Broom flowers to make yellow
Collect a pound of broom
flowers with tips and chop them into small pieces. Boil
them for ninety minutes in water. Strain the dye and simmer
the mordanted wool in the dye for one hour. Finally wash
and dry the wool as in the previous example.
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Lichen to make various colours
Dyes ranging from green
to light orange can be obtained from lichens. They do
not require a mordant and after crushing the lichen, simmer
it with the wet wool until it reaches the required colour.
Other natural dyes include, blackberries which can be used to make pink
dye. You could also use dandelions, tea, elderberry, beetroot
and various fruits. Varying the season when ingredients
are collected and changing the boiling time will alter the
colour of the dye. |
