KarAxe

Hi,

Is there anyone of you all having any kind of experience of fabric dyeing?

I've found some books on the topic using chemicals, but does anyone of you dye your own fabric by using plants or similar? I have a book on yarn dyeing with fungus, but I don't know if that works on fabric.

salmonsweet

Hey and welcome!

Others will have actual experience to contribute, but FWIW... I haven't started natural dyeing yet but have been flirting for a while. Whether you are dyeing unspin fibre, yarn or fabric doesn't matter too much; but you would use different mordants (substances that help fix the dye to the fibre), depending whether you are dyeing animal fibre (wool etc.) or plant fibre (cotton etc. - quilt fabrics!).

I love, love Jenny Deans book Wild Colour, it explains the dyeing processes very clearly and has information on a lot of plants to dye with. If you get a chance, you might like to have a look at it. It may also help you with figuring out how to use your fungus dye book (it sounds awesome).

Good luck! :-)
Kerstin x

romanojg

Georgia Bonsteel has done some shows on it; you should check

DebraK

I've used marigolds to dye fabric. I'll have to see if I can find the directions I used.

fabric_fancy

i've done some natural dyeing with spices/etc but i mostly use procion dyes for the vast color range i'm capable of making.

janallyn

i only dye silk, tho i have done work with cotton before, just silk is my venue, i think that looking into dhrama trading company which is based in california is an excellent source for information. i do not use natural dyes as they do not give me the vibrant colors i am after, different fibers require different mordants (setting agents), (ie acids for silk, i just use vinegar, it works, well and does not hurt the enviorment)with cottons some of the possibilities are
annato, sandlewood, indigo, cochineal (ground up bug, kinda icky i think), henna. onion skins, these are set with alum, cream of tartar, soda ash, or tara root.
one of the most important things i learned is that is it a protien fiber or a plant fiber, stains vs dye

as my scarf business is based more or less on silk, cannot give a lot of info, but i do use acid dyes (suitable for silk only) because of their properties and the fact, with practice (as in chemical cotton dyes) the dye is exhausted in the process, so nothing is left but clear water (do not drink, lol), i will send more resources if you wish, one thing to remember with natural dyes, is that you are unlikely to duplicate a color, and that is part of the charm, pm if you wish
jan in palatka

fabric_fancy also is familiar with the products and i suspect she is more knowledgable than i

KarAxe

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KarAxe

Thank you all!

Salmonsweet - Thank you for the book tip! I'll see if I can get Jenny Deans book somewhere. The book about fungus dyeing arrived yeaterday and it's fabulous! I'm out for a "fungus hunt" tonight!

Romanojg - I'll also check out what Georgia Bonsteels got.

DebraK - please let me know if you find the instructions of dyeing with marigold.

Fabric_fancy and Janallyn - from what I found out so far, silk and wool could be treated the same way, but -as salmonsweet said- plant fibre requires another kind of mordants.

/Karin :)