When it’s a week of scorching hot weather and it’s the longest, sunniest day of the year, what else to do but start a solar dyepot? First, add filtered water to a glass jar along with one ounce of silk and one ounce of dried coreopsis flowers from last year’s garden. Then, leave it in… Continue reading Dyeing from the Heat—Solar Dyeing on the Solstice
Easter will be here in a week and a half. Do you ever wonder why sometimes it’s so late in the year? The date of Easter is cosmically based: it varies year to year since it’s scheduled for the first Sunday after the first full moon on or after the Vernal Equinox. Sounds a little “pagan”, doesn’t it?… Continue reading Your Natural Easter Egg Dye Recipe Kit
To make colors ranging from clear sunshine to ocean blue and all the greens in between, plant Weld (Reseda luteola) and Japanese Indigo (Polygonum tinctorium) in your garden now. They are easy to grow and very useful for dying. Don’t worry about the commitment: even if you don’t get around to using them for dye this… Continue reading Plant These Two Dye Plants Now for Beautiful Color Later
I love the surprises of the seasonal and annual natural dye colors. While natural dye color can be generally predictable, variations occur based on many factors. Like wine, natural dye color is influenced by growing conditions: soil; weather; location. This is what viticulturists call terroir. Terroir affects wine flavor on one’s palate and in the same way affects the color palette in a dye. And like wine, each variety of dye plant has a vintage that’s individual to the area and varies, beautifully, year to year.
In my area, it’s Spring and that means Oxalis. You’ve seen the abundance of yellow flowers blooming on every corner. I’d heard that it was a good dye because the oxalic acid also mordants the fabric, eliminating the need for alum or any other fixative before dying.
Besides being interested in plants that need no mordant, I’ve also been intrigued with the idea of using invasive plants for dye, because they are usually abundant. Abundant and native to South Africa, but elsewhere known as an invasive weed, oxalis was my perfect Spring candidate for the following recipe.
We want to be healthy but we still want to enjoy ourselves too. In Spring, sometimes we naturally want to detox a little and going coffee free can be part of it. Dandelion coffee can be a great substitute. I don’t think that dandelion coffee tastes like real coffee, but it has a great flavor all its own that does have the same full-bodied profile as coffee, thanks to the roasted taste the roots impart.
So you’ve considered your dye plants and you are ready to get started, but where should they go? Here is how to make an artistic and practical “blueprint” for your dye garden.
As we emerge into spring, I’ve been thinking about this year’s dye garden. Earlier this week, I had the pleasure of speaking at the Petaluma Garden Club about some of the plants that yield natural dye, that are easy to grow in your own garden. There are more than you might think!
It’s Spring! Take advantage of this auspicious day to tune in with nature’s rhythms and energies with some of the ideas in this article.
1. It’s the Dead of Winter Could there be a harder time for New Year’s resolutions? It’s hibernation time! We’ve just come through the midpoint of winter, the very darkest time of the year, and we want a fresh start – but now? Well, I don’t. I want to cozy up and relax and plan for Spring. I’m reading books,… Continue reading 3 Reasons to Not Make New Year’s Resolutions on January 1
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