When it comes to color, I am as much as fan as the next gal. I love brightly colored clothing and sheets and it always makes me smile to bring some light into a room with a new shade. That said, I’ve been wondering how I can keep my love for color without using harmful chemicals dyes that are so prevalent in cloth manufacture today. Turns out there are ingredients in my own back yard that can yield colors I never thought to add, and the best part is they’re all-natural.
Berries, nuts, roots and flowers all have natural color properties than can be applied to your cloth to help your eco-friendly fashion sense. Gather the desired amount of any given material and chop into small pieces. In the case of flowers, make sure the blossom is in full bloom for the best color. Then boil in a pot and bring to a simmer, adding twice the amount of water as plant material. Once your mixture has simmered for about an hour you can strain away the plant material and begin dying.
First you’ll want to use an all-natural color fixative on your cloth to ensure that the color doesn’t bleed out in the wash. For berry dyes use ½ cup of salt and 8 cups of cold water, while for nut dyes you’ll want to use 4 parts cold water and 1 part vinegar. Simmer the fabric in the fixative for about an hour and then rinse in cool water and ring out excess fixative until the water is clear.
Now to dye! Simply soak your treated cloth in the dye until the color you want is visible. For darker shades you may want to allow your cloth to soak overnight. Be aware that the color is usually lighter when dry, and also that natural fabrics like wool and cotton that are lighter in color will take better to the dye. When your color is visible, ring out the cloth and hang to dry. Launder in cool water separately in order set the dye.
As far as choosing a color, plants can provide anything from orange (turmeric, bloodroot, barberry) to purple (pokeweed, hibiscus, daylilies) and everything in between. For brown walnuts, sumac, and old tea bags work great, while strawberries, raspberries and cherries will lend you a pink tint. Red cabbage, elderberries and grapes are good for purple while sumac fruit, dandelion root and rosehips equal red. Artichokes and spinach leaves will resulting green dye while plum tree roots and Virginia creeper give your cloth a peachy tint. In the end it comes down to experimentation- have fun discovering what plants will give you the color you want and feel better in the fact that they’re helping to make your home all natural and eco-friendly.
