An ancient dye plant with true yellow staying power – welcome to Weld! Weld – Dyer’s Rocket (Reseda luteola) – Click for seeds! Weld, also known as Dyer’s Rocket or Dyer’s Weed (officially Reseda luteola) is a member of the brassica family and grows as a rosette of green leaves with a spike-like shoot of smallContinue reading “Growing Weld”
Tag Archives: natural plant dyes
Growing Dyer’s Chamomile
A beautiful garden plant with bright yellow, fragrant, pollinator attracting flowers. Read on for some growing tips! Dyer’s Chamomile (Cota tinctoria) – Click for seeds! Dyer’s Chamomile, also known as Golden Marguerite (officially Cota tinctoria or Anthemis tinctoria) is a bushy daisy-like plant with feathery leaves growing 1 to 2 feet high and developing large numbers of fragrant,Continue reading “Growing Dyer’s Chamomile”
Growing Dyer’s Coreopsis
A lovely North American native prairie plant, a bee magnet, and a strong orange in the dye pot – what’s not to love?! Dyer’s Coreopsis (Coreopsis tinctoria) – Click for seeds! A cheerful North American native, this annual plant is easy to grow and will produce hundreds of beautiful little flowers in tufts 2Continue reading “Growing Dyer’s Coreopsis”
Growing Japanese Indigo
Here is a quick little growing guide for this great plant! Japanese Indigo (Persicaria tinctoria) – Click for seeds! A member of the knotweed family, this easy to grow annual plant has long been a part of Japanese culture and is used to produce a beautiful blue dye. This dye is present in the leaves,Continue reading “Growing Japanese Indigo”
Growing Woad
A quick post for those of you interested in growing a plant to produce blue dye! Woad (isatis tinctoria) – Click for seeds! A member of the mustard family, woad has been used since ancient times to produce a beautiful blue dye. It is an easy to grow hardy biennial, but is classified as anContinue reading “Growing Woad”
Naturally Dyeing Yarn with Marigolds
If you are 100% new to the art of natural dyeing… or if you need a dye that will give you great color every single time, marigolds are the dyestuff you want. They are plentiful, forgiving, work just about as well dried as fresh, and give an amazing mustard yellow. You probably recognize marigolds asContinue reading “Naturally Dyeing Yarn with Marigolds”
Natural Dye: Berry Pinks
Ok, I know I’m a little late for Valentine’s Day, but I just stumbled into the most glorious pink dye (or perhaps stain – more on that later) using some past-their-prime berries. Below is the long version – scroll down for the quick and dirty! Or find a recipe for natural yellow dye HERE. Continue reading “Natural Dye: Berry Pinks”
Glorious Green (and Yellow) from Rudbeckia
Hello all! While we are waiting for the KnittyVet Etsy shop to reopen on Tuesday Sept. 12 with the new yarn update, I thought I’d share my process for dyeing with Rudbeckia. Call them Black Eyed Susans, Coneflowers, Gloriosa Daisies, or whatever, many folks have asked me if these pretty yellow or orange flowers reallyContinue reading “Glorious Green (and Yellow) from Rudbeckia”
Flower Eco Printed Cotton Shirt
For the 4th of July this year we decided to start a little project with some of the fresh flowers in our yard and a cotton t-shirt. I had previously prepared the shirt by following the directions for mordanting cotton with alum outlined in Wild Colors by Jenny Dean. Despite some excitement over the sumacContinue reading “Flower Eco Printed Cotton Shirt”
Dye Project #3: Creeping Charlie (part 1/2)
Some folks may have strong feelings about this plant. You’ve been warned. Creeping charlie (Glechoma hederacea) is a fast spreading perennial ground cover in the mint family. According to Wikipedia it is also know poetically as”ground ivy”, “alehoof”, or “run-away-robin”. As anyone who has experienced its growth in their own yard, that last name isContinue reading “Dye Project #3: Creeping Charlie (part 1/2)”