What could be more in tune with nature than taking plants and colouring fibre with them? I have dabbled in dyeing for years, but this year I planted a dye garden.
Dyeing with weld
Plants for your dye garden
Weld (shown here) for yellow, woad and Japanese indigo for blue and madder for red. None of these are particulalry beautiful plants but they give some of the most wash and light fast natural dyes.
More plants for your dye garden
If you wish to combine beauty and dye plants, try golden rod, safflower or coreopsis, hollyhocks (shown here) or artemesia tinctura (dyers camomile). The latin plant name may give you a clue, tinctura means that it can be used as a dye. Genista tinctoria is known as dyers greenweed or dyers broom.
I have been inspired by others so if you wish to learn more have a look at these links.
- DT Craft and Design run by Debbie and Pete Tomkies
- Wild colours run by Teresinha Roberts
- Both these sites sell dried natural dyes and have information about how to use them
Beechwood Crafts 