Doolin 2021

Dyed with 18th century recipes, developed by Master Dyer Antoine Janot (1700-1775). Though I had to tweak a few recipes, this book has been a real inspiration when it comes to blending colour. Back then Natural dyeing was the only source of colouring cloth and the choice of dyes limited. Doolin has been dyed using only 4 dyes in varying quantities and combinations: Sage, Indigo, Madder & Oak Gall. I wanted to create a Winter Palette so I substituted Weld with Sage. Sage gives darker and moodier yellows in comparison to the lively lemon like yellow produced by Weld. I had to double dye most to create an even colour uptake, but I am very pleased with the results and I hope they will inspire you to create something beautiful, thank you! 

'Workbook: Antoine Janot's Colours'

Written by Dominique Cardon and Iris Bremaud

Let’s celebrate the humble nettle!

Doolin is made from 80%wool and 20% Ramie and the bigger brother of our 4ply Turin, made from a similar blend but including Silk as well. Ramie is a bast fibre, made from the inner phloem of the nettle. Ramie not only gives the yarn a gentle sheen, but also provides strength and stability needed for the heel and toe areas making it a great alternative to nylon rich yarns. Ramie doesn’t absorb dye the same way as wool does, giving this yarn a unique two-toned mottled effect.

Doolin and Turin are 'all rounder' yarns suitable for any project you set your mind too.

Like with all hand knitted items, a gentle handwash is best, however, this yarn has been washing machine tested by us and can be wool washed if preferred.

We also have some stunning patterns available for this yarn in our pattern section, designed by LBhandknits for AppleOak FibreWorks.

In a nutshell for 1 skein:
80% wool & 20% Ramie
weight Sport
100gr/ 3.5oz
300m/ 328yards
2-3mm needles
Origins: Wool USA, Ramie China, spun in the Czech Republic, Dyed in Ireland naturally.

Indigo* - herbaceous plant ( you might get a bit of blue on your hands while
Knitting - that is easily washed of with soap and even healthy!)

This ECO punching pad is great for needle felting. It is made of firm foam rubber, so you won't have little patches coming off, at least not for a good while, unlike softer sponges. The pad comes in a purple colour (used to be blue)

Available in 3 sizes

small: 10x15cm  Medium: 20x15cm  Large: 20x30cm

Why ECO?
Until now punch pads were made out of polyurethane using a chemical production process.
Our producer developed a new production process which excludes the needed chemicals; using a vacuum technique instead. They are using a raw material with a partly biological origin. (50%)

STAR NEEDLE Fine (Gauge 40) The higher the Gauge, the finer the needle.

This needle is a great no-nonsense needle. This needle is designed in a star/crown, rather than a triangle it has fine ridges, leaving no holes while working. Great for sculpting, detail work, smoothing out surfaces. If you are looking for an all-around-needle, this is the one! I found the star needle 40 gauge perfect for fine work. It doesn't leave any holes and is a perfect universal needle.

To avoid braking: Puncture, don’t wiggle!

Please note that the felting needles are fragile. Make sure that you always puncture the needle at the same angle and take it out the same way. Avoid lateral tension, do not wiggle! It is advisable to always have some extra needles in stock, especially if you are a beginner.

These needles are extremely sharp and should only be used with children under adult supervision.

Calcium carbonate 100g (3 5oz)

Chalk is used to dung fabrics after specific mordant or printing applications.

Chalk has certain enzymes used in the dunging process to 'lock' mordants in. Dunging was originally done using cow dung - thankfully chalk is a perfect replacement!

Generally, you need 1-2 tsp dissolved into water to create a Dunging Solution.

A natural organic white cotton plush, with simple animal figures made from organic grey wool. Fluffy inside and therefore reversible for children's clothes, baby blankets, thermal lining, sleeping and stroller bags, blankets and throws.

95% organic-cotton, 5% virgin wool

Width: 140 cm/55inches
Weight: 342 g/sqm 12oz/square meter
Color: natural -cream
Finish: natural, washed
Shrinkage: ca. 5%

Organic/GOTS-certified
BIO/ORGANIC/GOTS certified by CERES-082

Machine wash 40 Celsius/104 Fahrenheit

Discounts are available for bigger quantities, please get in touch for custom orders turn around time 5-7 working days:

from 6m - 52.20 Euros/m

Made for children's hands, these wooden needles are shorter and have a great grip. 

(Needles only, yarn is not included)

In a nutshell:

Beechwood Needles
21cm long (no red cap)

25cm long (with red cap)

Our Stockholm range is perfect for children using the 6mm needles.

Full Collection 17 colours.

Naturally dyed, using Tannins, Indigo, Madder, Cochineal and many more, these linen threads have been carefully hand dyed, using sustainable and professional methods to create long lasting colours. A lot of love, time and patience has gone into these little jewels. Hand wound from cones into skeins, mordanted, dyed, dried and wound back by hand on enchanting little bobbin cards, these linen threads are very special indeed. 

Available in an array of colour, there is approx. 60m (65yrds) or 10g on one sturdy bobbin card. Your average cotton floss has 8m on one skein.

Always keep naturally dyed items away from direct sunlight.

Madder Dye Cut or ground ~ Dye Colour a variety of reds including orange, browns, reds, brick red, blood red and fiery reds.

*Collected in the Wild of Iran

The color depends on a variety of conditions, like the soil the roots where grown, their age, the mineral content of the water used for dyeing, the temperature of the dye pot, and how much madder you use in relation to the fiber. Many dyers suggest mordanting the wool just with alum and not to use cream of tartar as well, but that is your own choice and why not try to experiment a bit? Like with any dyeing, you will need to soak the fiber overnight or for a few hours before adding them to the dye pot for both hot and cold dyeing. You can dye with madder either cold or with heat; some dyers use chalk to get better reds.

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Recipe for Wool: Downloadable PDF 

Recipe for Plant fibres: Downloadable PDF

Basic recipe:

(You can adjust the amounts as needed)

100 grams dried madder roots
100 grams mordanted (Alum) fiber (50 grams for darker reds or 300 grams for lighter colors)
7 to 10 liters of water
6 grams calcium carbonate (chalk) if using

Soak the roots in the dye pot over night
Bring o 65 degrees Celsius for one hour
Strain through cloth
Add yarn and dye bag to dye pot
Keep on 65 - 95 degrees Celsius for one hour

**IMPORTANT: The higher the temperature the darker the colour.

Organic natural Indigo ~ Dye colour Blue 

[our Indigo is NOT synthetic]

Country of Origin: India 

The advantage in dyeing with Indigo is, that no mordant is needed.  The water doesn't need to be heated to more than 40 degrees Celsius and a little goes a long way. We can dye 3-4 kg of Wool using 50g of Indigo. 

There are many ways of dyeing with Indigo. Below you will find the recipe for a yeast vat.  For a straight forward no-waiting-required approach, you can use Hydros as an oxygen remover. Waiting time approx. one hour.

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Basic Recipe ~

It is possible to create a vat from indigo, lime (calcium hydroxide) and over-ripe fruit such as bananas or dates that relies on the chemistry of the sugars* rather than fermentation of the fruit. But it’s easier to simply use fructose shared in

Our Organic Sugar Vat Recipe

Or for a more lightfast solution go for the recipe below or for a quick Vat, use the Hydros Vat, but it does use a chemical oxygen remover.

Our Hydros Vat Recipe

Both recipe are also available as dye Kits

FERMENTATION USING YEAST:

For 500gr wool etc. at one time . (amount can be repeated several times using the same bath)

 9l water

dye container with lid
separate pot for the water bath to add the container
110gr sugar
50gr dried yeast with out preservatives etc.
30gr bicarbonate of soda
40gr ground Indigo
thermometer

This Method requires the dye bath to be on a constant 40 degrees Celsius and shouldn't exceed 50 degrees Celsius. Ideally put the dye pot in a water bath on a wire rack to ensure even distribution of temperature. 

1. Fill pot with 9l of water and heat to 40 degrees Celsius. 

2. Mix sugar and yeast and add to the water. Leave until dissolved and bubbly. 

3. Dissolve soda in a glass with hot water and add the dye, stir until smooth. Add to yeast mixture. 

4. Close lid and ideally put into a bin bag, you want it as air locked as possible. Leave at steady temperature for 8 hours. 

5. Lift lid and stir carefully until all the foamed Indigo has returned into the dye. Try to stir as little air into it as possible.

6. Close the pot up again and leave for 48 hours until the water is yellow green.

7. The water will show a metallic shimmer on the surface when ready. Carefully stir it back in.

8. Add the damp but not mordanted wool etc. make sure all are under the water add a plate or a metallic disc to press the wool etc. under the surface. Whatever swims at the top will be unevenly dyed.

9. Close it up and leave for 6 -12 hours. 

10. Remove wool etc. and press out back into the dye bath.  

11. Open wool etc. and leave exposed for at least 20min. All should turn blue. 

12. If you prefer a deeper blue add it to the dye bath again and repeat step 9. 

13. Wash twice with a mild soap, then rinse 4-5 times using vinegar in the last bath. 

14. Hang up and air for a few days or weeks. 

You can repeat this dyeing process using the same dye bath several times.

LOGWOOD ~ Available Cut or ground and as extract* 

(Bois de Campeche, Campeachy Wood) 

*Collected in the Wild (foraged) in Haiti

Logwood is a natural dye wood from Central America, used for producing blues and purples on wool, black on cotton and wool, and black and violet on silk.  

Logwood is PH sensitive.  

It is called by old dyers one of the Lesser Dyes because the colour was said to lose all its brightness when exposed to the air.

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Basic Recipe: 

65g bark, soaked in water for 2 days.

100g mordanted yarn/fibre (Alum 10g)

Bring pot with dye to simmer For 2h.

Strain through cloth, add yarn/fibre and dye bag to dye bath for 1h.

Rinse.

The logwood chips should be put in a bag and boiled for 20 minutes to 1/2 an hour, just before using or soak overnight, bring to the boil in the morning for 1h, strain and bind into bag.

* When using extract you only need to use 5-10% of the weight of your dry fabric. Logwood is one of the more excessive dyes - a little goes a long way - especially when using extract.

COCHINEAL DYE ~ Dye colours red, pinks to purples

Origin: Canary Islands, Spain. Organically farmed and processed by Canaturex ~ www.canaturex.com

I am so delighted to have finally found some organic Cochineal. Lorenzo is one of the very first offering organic fully traceable Cochineal.

Cochineal is a powerful dye - made from small insects feeding of cacti. The reds and pinks created from this tiny insects are astounding and breathtaking. From deep rich full bodied reds to light fairy like pinks can be created by only one dye bath. 

Cochineal will always dye pinks on plant based fibres.

*Cochineal is the small insect, of which the most commonly cultivated species is Dactylopius. The body of the insect is made of 19–22% carminic acid.

**It takes about 80,000 to 100,000 insects to make one kilogram of cochineal dye. The two principal forms of cochineal dye are cochineal extract, a colouring made from the raw dried and pulverized bodies of insects, and carmine, a more purified colouring made from the cochineal.


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Recipe for Wool Fibres: Downloadable PDF

Recipe For Plant Fibres: Downloadable PDF

Basic recipe:

6% Cochineal
Wool yarn mordanted with Alum 10%


Soak Cochineal in Water overnight
blend using a stick blender

Add dye to dye bath
Bring to a simmer
Remove any black tar like bubbles

Strain through a cloth and keep to the side
Add yarn to bath simmer for one hour.

Add dye bag to second and any following dye baths.

INDIGO HYDROS VAT FOR ALL FIBRES ~ This Kit contains everything you need to dye 100-900g of natural Yarn/Fibre/Fabric.

DYE COLOUR: Blue - can be overdyed with Reseda Yellow for green or Cochineal Red for Purple.

Most natural dyes aren't immediately exhausted and you can continue dyeing several more pieces. Each new dip will result in a paler colour.
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Don't want a Kit, but just the recipe? Click here for a downloadable PDF!

SUITABILITY

Over the past year, I have noticed that many crafters use natural dye kits to dye Cotton, linen and other plant based fibres. Unknown to them, the mordanting instructions used for Wool or Silk are unsuitable for plant based fibres and often will result in pale, short lasting colours.

We have remedied that with our collection of ever growing dye kits and stand alone dye recipes. You can now choose the dye kit according to your fibre need ~ protein (wool & other animal fibres) or plant based fibres (linen, hemp, cotton)

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The DYE Kit makes a lovely present too - well packaged in recyclable cardboard, the dyes come in resealable stand up bags and the recipe is printed on strong booklet paper, which can be reused again and again.


What you will receive in this Kit:

Full and reusable Dyeing instructions

How to care for your plant dyed things care card

15g Indigo, 25g Soda Ash, 25g Hydros ~ all packaged in resealable stand up bags

Reseda or Dyer's Weld is a Mediterranean herb and the oldest yellow dye plant in the world. Reseda alongside Madder, Woad and Chamomile produce the very best natural dyes for temperate areas.The famous medieval colours, Saxon green and Lincoln green, were produced by over-dyeing Reseda yellow with Woad blue. Lincoln green was apparently the colour of the clothing of Robin Hood's men.

Reseda is the base of many of our green yarns.

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Recipe Downloadable PDF ~ Reseda

Basic Recipe:

100% Reseda

7% Soda Ash

Wool (mordanted with 10% Alum)

Soak Reseda in Dye pot with Soda Ash overnight.

Bring to a simmer for 1 hour.

Strain through Cloth, put to the side.

Add wool to the dye pot and simmer gently for 1 hour.

*For a paler yellow add the dye bag to the 2nd bath and add the next lot of     mordanted yarn.

**The same bath can be used up to 3 times.

A single layered gauze or muslin, made from untreated organic cotton with a fine striped natural structure naturally dyed by us ~ semi Solid.

NOTE: Some pieces, especially the darker blues, can have markings, as shown on the last picture. Every piece is unique and some have none others have more markings. You can state in the message to seller box if you prefer less or more, otherwise we will just pick randomly. 

1 Unit ordered = 80 x 80 cm 

The individual pieces are 80 x 80 cm, but we can cut them in one long piece if you prefer, long lengths would make lovely narrow curtains, with a checkered appearance. Every 80cm will be a broad strip.

This fabric is best known as the Muslin Nappy cloth and that is its original purpose.

Material: 100% kbA (GOTS)-Cotton
Size: 80x80cm
Colour: natural
Weight :110g/sqm
Shrinkage: 5-10%
Wash: 60-90 Degrees Celcius

Certification: BIO/ORGANIC/GOTS certified by CERES-082 GOTS kbA-Cotton
Made in France

RHUBARB ROOT ~ Dye Colour depending on PH influencer - yellow brown, green with iron and pink with Soda Ash.

Country of Collection: China


Rhubarb is indeed a stunning Plant – not only does it grow enormous – we can eat the stalks for desserts and use the leaves for mordanting fibre and the roots for creating 3 gorgeous colours.

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Recipe for wool fibres: Downloadable PDF

Recipe for Plant Fibres: Downloadable PDF

Basic recipe:

100% cut Rhubarb or 50% ground Rhubarb
Wool (mordanted 10% Alum)

Optional:
3-5% Iron
15% Soda Ash

Line the pot with a cloth. Fill the pot half with water and add the rhubarb.
Bring to about 85-95 degrees Celsius for 1 hour.

Tie dye in Cloth and leave in bath.
Add wool and simmer gently for 1 hour.

Optional:

Add 3% -5% iron to the dye bath to turn into green or soda ash to turn it pink, if desired.

Remove after about 10min, rinse & dry.

The Yarn:

Our new Aran weight wool yarn is hand dyed by us in Ireland using organic natural dyes. Our Aran yarn is very soft and squishy and creates beautiful garments, that keep warm, but are still light. The knit is clearly visible, making it also a great Beginner's yarn and perfect for cables.

In a nutshell for 1 skein (100g/3.5oz):

LAC DYE ~ Dye colours violet to red to brown

Lac is a powerful dye and probably mostly know in relation to the Tibetan Monks' Tunic - all dyed with Lac. It doesn't have the brilliance of cochineal red, but a much more mature red, like wine.

*Lac is the scarlet resinous secretion of a number of species of lac insects, of which the most commonly cultivated species is Kerria lacca.

**Cultivation begins when a farmer gets a stick (brood lac) that contains eggs ready to hatch and ties it to the tree to be infested.[1] Thousands of lac insects colonize the branches of the host trees and secrete the resinous pigment. The coated branches of the host trees are cut and harvested as stick lac.

The harvested stick lac is crushed and sieved to remove impurities. The sieved material is then repeatedly washed to remove insect parts and other soluble material. The resulting product is known as seed lac. The prefix seed refers to its pellet shape. Seed lac which still contains 3–5% impurities is processed into shellac by heat treatment or solvent extraction. (Wikipedia)

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Basic recipe:

3-5% Lac
wool (no mordant needed)

use 10-15% ALum, if using more than 5% Lac

Dissolve lac in warm water and add to dyepot.

Add wool (always wet) to dye pot and bring to a simmer.

leave for one hour.

One bath can dye several skeins of yarn.


Add wool to the dye bath simmer for one hour.
Let it cool and leave in dye bath overnight.

Rinse and dry.

Lac dyed yarn benefits from a vinegar soak for 20min after rinsing.

CATECHU DYE ~ Dye Colour Brown and Beige

Catechu, or better known as Cutch, is a powdered dye which results in beautiful brown tones. It can be used for Cotton, silk and wool Fiber.

Cutch contains two dyes, catechu-tannic acid, which is soluble in cold water, and catechin, which needs hot water to dissolve.

*Catechu is apparently very good for eczema.

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Basic Recipe

200gr wool (mordant optional see note below)

20gr of Cutch extract made into paste with boiling water (keep on adding, tends to be sticky)

Add to dye pot (hot water) and simmer; the longer the deeper the colour of the dye.
Add the wool and simmer for 1 hour.
Leave wool out to oxidize before rinsing.

*Several more skeins can be added later for lighter colours. Catechu is difficult to exhaust

**mordant wool with Alum for brighter results, but it will also dye a nice brown without any mordant.

SAFFLOWER DYE ~ lovely soft yellow and red

*Grown and harvested in Iran 

Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius) is a highly branched, herbaceous, thistle-like annual plant. It is commercially cultivated for vegetable oil extracted from the seeds. Plants are 30 to 150 cm (12 to 59 in) tall with globular flower heads having yellow, orange, or red flowers. Each branch will usually have from one to five flower heads containing 15 to 20 seeds per head. Safflower is native to arid environments having seasonal rain. It grows a deep taproot which enables it to thrive in such environments. (wikipedia)

Safflower can give a lovely warm red, but it doesn't dye red on wool. First you have to knead the safflower in water for a long time, discarding the yellow dye regularly until the water turns red. It is a long process, but worth the effort. It will dye Linen, Cotton and other plant fibres.
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Basic Recipe for yellow

100g dye, soaked in water overnight.
100g mordanted yarn/fibre (Alum 15g)

Bring pot with dye to simmer For 1h. Strain through cloth, add yarn/fibre and dye bag to dye bath for 1h. Rinse.

ORGANIC ANNATTO SEEDS ~ Dye Colour Yellow and Orange

Harvested in the Wild of Côte D'Ivoire 

Wool, Silks, Cotton and Linen can be dyed successfully with Annatto Seeds. It gives a radiant yellow orange. If you combine the dye bath with Cochenial you get brilliant reds and rose-red colours.

*The dye is not very light fast and might have to be redyed after a few years. However, combined with Cochenial, it will hold out longer. 

**Use Cream of tartar and Cochenial for orange red colours. Pre dye silks with madder root, then add to an Annatto bath to make a beautiful copper orange. A yolk yellow can be achieved using tartaric acid and Annatto seeds.

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Basic Recipe for yellow:

*You can use this bath again for a yellow orange and a light yellow orange, with every further dip the dye will be less vibrant.
**It is worthwhile soaking the Wool in a vinegar bath for 10 minutes before dyeing.


100gr wool or silk mordanted in 15% Alum and 10% Cream of Tartar for 1 hour.
100g Annatto Seeds

1.Soak 100gr Annatto seed with 10gr Soda in water over night.
2.Blend in a mixer and simmer for 1 hour. Pour mixture through a cloth, tie off the seeds (dye bag) and keep the dye bath.

3.To dye: Add the silk for 20 minutes at 80 degrees.
Simmer wool for one hour without the dye bag.

Add the silk again for another 15min. Wash and rinse.

A double layered gauze or muslin, made from organic cotton with a fine striped natural structure. Versatile use as household fabric, for clothing, for diapers and wraps, for curtains & cushions. Made from untreated organic cotton with a fine striped natural structure, naturally dyed by us ~ semi Solid

Please be aware, that dye lots vary and fabrics are dyed as semi solid, with variations showing on occasion, especially in the darker blues and greens.

Material: 100% kbA-Cotton
Width: 155 cm
Colour: blue
Weight :288g/qm
Certification: BIO/ORGANIC/GOTS certified by CERES-082 GOTS kbA-Cotton
Dyed: Natural Dyes, organic when possible
Fabric Origin: France

Wash: 30-40 degrees Celsius.

*Vegan Note: Cochineal is a small louse/insect

FUSTIC HARDWOOD DYE, Dyer's Mulberry ~ Dye Colour yellow and green

Fustic was introduced into Europe in the 16th century. It is a viable source of yellow, creating clear bright yellows to greens when overdyed with indigo. Made from the hardwood of Chlorophora or Morus tinctoria, this tree is part of the Mulberry family.

Fustic is extremely strong and only 25% of  dye (W.D.F) is needed. Once dyed, the wood chips can be dried and re used again another time.

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Basic Recipe:

25% Fustic cut

10% Alum

Mordant yarn by dissolving Alum in hot water, add yarn and leave overnight.

Pour hot water over the woodchips and leave steeping overnight.

The next day:

Rinse mordanted yarn.

Strain dye and dry for another day.

Add yarn to dye bath, heat to 85C for 1hour.

Rinse and dry yarn.

*When using the dye again, boil it for 45min, the yellow will be darker.

**You can change the colour to olive green by adding 3% Iron.

*** Creates lovely clear greens when overdyed with Indigo