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Back on Track
After a fun month of traveling and having visits from relatives, I am settling back into my usual routine. I’m caught up on the basic chores – the house is all clean, the animals are all healthy –...
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Another Day, Another Dyestuff
In spite of last year’s drought, we have a lot of plants thriving in the pasture, so I have been trying some natural dyeing. A few weeks ago I tried rudbeckia (or black-eyed Susan), and this week I...
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Dye Samples Revisited
In the midst of using up my scraps, I was hunting in the closet for that last little piece of a fabric I needed, and came across all my naturally dyed samples from last May. At that time I was reading...
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Reading About Red
Long winter nights are a perfect time for armchair travel – reading my way around the world and through the centuries, and learning a little more about textiles. Madder red? I think so. This is a scrap...
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More Beautiful Yellows
Here are the latest results from my dye jars* – From left to right – dog fennel, waterleaf, and parsley hawthorn. Jenny Dean mentions hawthorn in her book Wild Color. She recommends using the flowers...
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Natural Dye Lightfastness Results
Last summer I did a lot of natural dye experiments, I gave the samples a year to rest, and then put them out in the sun for a month to see how they would hold up. Covering half of each sample retains...
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Biodiversity…I Spy…Natural Dyes
Today we present! (Dun-dun-dah) Textile Ranger – Plant Detective!!!! (It would be very helpful if you could read this in the voice of Sgt. Joe Friday from the series Dragnet.) Here in the deep and...
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Rudbeckia Dye Results
A few days ago I clipped a lot of rudbeckia blooms in hopes of creating a beautiful natural dye. Here’s what I knew about natural dyes: the most common results from dye plants are a range of beiges and...
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Texas Dandelion Dye
I tried a new plant from the yard, and couldn’t believe the depth of color! L to R – Licorice Twist yarn with dandelion dye, same with ammonia modifier, two skeins of Euro 6-ply sock yarn with...
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