Organic natural Indigo ~ Dye colour Blue 

[our Indigo is NOT synthetic but the real stuff]

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 ~ 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.

Organic *ground, **cut or whole Hibiscus flowers 

Cultivated in Egypt.

For a light purple colour on wool and deep pinks to dark greys on Linen & Cotton, using different mordants. 

*Use 50% of dye according to the weight of the dry fabric/fibre you would like to dye when using ground Hibiscus. 

**Use 75-100% of dye according to the weight of the dry fabric/fibre you would like to dye when using cut or whole Hibiscus. 

*** If you like to read about how to dye Linen with hibiscus, follow this link here: Creating Colour from Food by AppleOak FibreWorks

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Basic Recipe: 

This dye will need a mordant, Alum, when dyeing wool. 
10-15% of Alum. 
Mordanted fabric or yarn, 50% - 100% hibiscus dye. 

Add water to the dye and bring to the boil.  Keep on a simmer for 30min.
Strain the liquid through a sieve (cloth if using ground hibiscus) and returning the liquid back to the pot (no more heating required).  
Add your dyestuff and let it soak until your required colour depth is reached, from 1/2 hour to overnight.

Black Walnut Shells ~ Dye Colour Earthy light and dark browns 

*Cultivated in the USA

Black Walnuts are a pleasure to dye with, the first dye bath will give a beautiful deep earthy brown colour and the second dye bath a light brown. Black Walnut Dye works best on silk and wool fibres.

Black Walnut is used in many different areas from dye to cosmetics to medicine. 

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Basic Recipe:

50% ground or 100% whole Black Walnuts Soaked overnight

mordanted Fibre/Fabric 

After you have soaked the Walnuts in cold water overnight bring to 80 degrees Celsius for one hour. 

Strain out the shells/powder  and add mordanted fibre/fabric.

bring to 80 degrees for 1 hour. 
Leave overnight or 12 hours for deeper results. 

 Rinse and dry.

Dried Organic Oak Bark ~ Dye Colour Golden Beige and Browns

*Organic Oak Bark Dye is cultivated in Poland, European production

**Oak Bark is used for plant dyeing Wool and Silk. You can use them as a dye without any need to fix the colour due to the tannin content, you could throw in a few oak galls to bring up the tannin content.

*** Oak bark tends to go darker with a higher PH (8) and lighter beige colours with a lower PH (5)


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Basic recipe:

50% - 100% of Oak Bark
Wool (Mordant not necessary)

Soak the bark overnight
Simmer for 2 hours
Strain through cloth.

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

Rinse and dry.

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.

Madder Dye Cut or ground ~ Dye Colour a variety of reds including orange 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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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.

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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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.

COCHINEAL DYE ~ Dye colours red, pinks to purples

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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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.

LOVAGE ~ Dye Colour yellow and green.

Country of Origin: Germany
Fine for consumption

This European Herb is probably best known in Cooking. We love it in soups and only a small amount can give a surprising amount of flavour! So you might be surprised to find it in our Dyeing section.

Like with most dyes, if a plant has a strong perfume, it tends to give a colour. When I tried fresh Lovage, I was astounded by the colour it yielded. A deep green yellow, which turned into a stunning green, when a bit of Iron was added. The dried herb gives similar results, though not as powerful as the fresh herb.

Not everyone has Lovage growing in the garden, or only a small amount. If you have some fresh lovage available mix them with the dry powder and the result will be lovely.

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Basic recipe:

100-200% Lovage
3-5% Iron
Wool (mordanted 10% Alum)

Line the pot with a cloth. Fill the pot half with water and add the lovage.
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.

Add 3% -5% iron to the dye bath to turn it green.

Remove after about 10min, rinse & dry.

Black Beans or Black Turtle Beans ~ known generally to the cooking world, this bean makes a wonderful food dye. Not necessarily very colourfast, it matures into a beautiful ceramic colour - silver grey with a touch of blue. Because you are only using the soaking water, you can use the beans for cooking afterwards, making it a very 'no waste' food dye.

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Basic Recipe:

100% Dried Black Beans

100g Cream of Tartar

Fibre/Fabric

After you have soaked the beans in cold water overnight - remember we want the soaking liquid so don't drain it away!

Fill a big pot with fresh water
Stir the beans to extract as much colour as possible. 
Take a sieve and drain the liquid into the pot.
Put the beans back into the pot and fill with water again, stir than drain into pot.
add 100g of Cream of tartar to the dyebath.
add the table cloth bring to 80 degrees for 1 hour. 
Leave overnight or 12 hours.

Rinse and dry.

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.

Dried (non-organic) Walnut Shells Ground or Cut ~ Dye Colour golden and dark Browns

*Walnut Shells powdered harvested in the wild of Macedonia 

**Walnut Shells Cut harvest in the wild of Albania

Walnut shells or husks are used for plant dyeing Wool and Silk. Preferably, you would like to use green Walnut shells, the dye colour brown is more radiant, but not everybody has a Walnut tree in the back garden, so try the dried shells instead.

IF you do have a tree handy, do collect the green husks and freeze them. You can use them as a dye without any need to fix the colour due to the tannin content.

If you use the dried husks, I would suggest to use a mordant, too. But do try without it, you might like the result!

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Basic recipe:

100% of Walnut shells
Wool (Mordant not necessary)

Soak the shells overnight
Simmer for 2 hours
Strain through cloth.

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

Rinse and dry.

OAK MOSS ~ Dye colour Champange Beige to Brown

*Oak Moss from responsibly harvested forests in Mazedonia.

Champagne is the closest colour I can think of to describe the colour obtained by Oak Moss. You can influence the nuances by adding different mordants, but generally no mordant is necessary.
Oak Moss is also used for Soap making to add texture and scrub to the soap.

From Wikipedia
Evernia prunastri, also known as Oak Moss, is a species of lichen. It can be found in many mountainous temperate forests throughout the Northern Hemisphere, including parts of France, Portugal, Spain, North America, and much of Central Europe. Oak moss grows primarily on the trunk and branches of oak trees, but is also commonly found on the bark of other deciduous trees and conifers such as fir and pine. The thalli of oak moss are short (3–4 cm in length) and bushy, and grow together on bark to form large clumps. Oak moss thallus is flat and strap-like. They are also highly branched, resembling the form of deer antlers. The colour of oak moss ranges from green to a greenish-white when dry, and dark olive-green to yellow-green when wet. The texture of the thalli are rough when dry and rubbery when wet. It is used extensively in modern perfumery. 

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A basic Recipe:

50% oak moss or more
wool/yarn ~ no mordant needed

Simmer moss for 3 hours.
Strain through Cloth.

Add wet wool to the dye pot.

Let it simmer for 1h, cool and leave overnight.

Rinse and dry.

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.

ALKANET ~ Dye Colour: Purple

*Cultivated in India

**The dye colour goes more into a purple blue grey, but it depends on how you extract the dye and what mordants you use.

***Please be aware that you will need to extract the dye with alcohol.

Below is an extract from Wikipedia which describes the colour as red...Time to experiment!

Alkanna tinctoria, the dyer's alkanet or alkanet, is a herb in the borage family. Its main notability is its roots are used as a red dye. The plant is also known as dyers' bugloss, orchanet, Spanish bugloss or Languedoc bugloss. It is native in the Mediterranean region.

Alkanna tinctoria has a bright blue flower. The plant has a dark red root of blackish appearance externally but blue-red inside, with a whitish core. The root produces a fine red colouring material which has been used as a dye in the Mediterranean region since antiquity. The root as a dyestuff is soluble in alcohol, ether, and the oils, but is insoluble in water. It is used to give colour to wines and alcoholic tinctures, to vegetable oils, and to varnishes.

Powdered and mixed with oil, the alkanet root is used as a wood stain. When mixed into an oily environment it imparts a crimson color to the oil, which, when applied to a wood, moves the wood color towards dark-red-brown rosewood, and accentuates the grain of the wood.

Alkanet is traditionally used in Indian food under the name "Ratan Jot", and lends its red colour to some versions of the curry dish Rogan Josh. In Australia alkanet is approved for use as a food colouring, but in the European Union it is not.

It has been used as colorant for lipstick and rouge (cosmetics).

In alkali environments the alkanet dye has a blue/purple color, with the color changing again to crimson on addition of an acid. The colour is red at pH 6.1, purple at 8.8 and blue at pH 10. Hence, it can be used to do alkali-acid litmus tests (but the usual litmus test paper does not use alkanet as the agent and its colour change is closer to pH 7).

The colouring agent in Alkanna tinctoria root has been chemically isolated and named alkannin.

WHOLE POMEGRANATE FLOWERS ~ Dye Colour Yellow

Harvested in India, wild Collection

Wool, Silks, Cotton and Linen can be dyed with Pomegranate. It gives a darker yellow, depending on quantities used. 

*Also suitable for soap making and consumption
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Basic Recipe for yellow:

Basic Recipe for orange/yellow:

100gr wool or silk mordanted in 10% Alum and for 1 hour. 

50-100g flowers

1.Soak flowers over night. 
2.Pour mixture through a cloth, tie off the flowers (dye bag) and keep in the dye bath. 

3.To dye: Simmer wool for one hour. Leave in dye bath to cool (will deepen the colour)

Rinse and dry

THYME ~ Dye Colour yellow and green.

Country of Origin: Turkey
Fine for consumption

This Mediterranean Herb is probably best known in Cooking. So you might be surprised, to find it in our Dyeing section.

Like with most dyes, if a plant has a strong perfume, it tends to give a colour. When I tried fresh Thyme, I was astounded by the colour it yielded. A deep green yellow, which turned into a stunning green, when a bit of Iron was added. The dried herb gives satisfying similar results. Expect deep greens!

Not everyone has Thyme growing in the garden, or only a small amount. If you have some fresh thyme available mix them with the dried rubbed herb and the result will be lovely.

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Basic recipe:

100% Thyme
3-5% Iron
Wool (mordanted 10% Alum)

Line the pot with a cloth. Fill the pot half with water and add the Thyme.
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.

Add 3% -5% iron to the dye bath to turn it green.

Remove after about 10min, rinse & dry.

SAGE OFFICINALIS CUT ~ Dye Colour greenish yellow and green.

Country of Origin: Mazedonia
Fine for consumption

Salvia officinalis is a perennial, evergreen subshrub, with woody stems, grayish leaves, and blue to purplish flowers. It is a member of the mint family Lamiaceae and native to the Mediterranean region. The plant is now widely spread and cultivated in many regions of the world.

Sage has been used since ancient times and can be eaten, used in herbal medicine and dyeing.

Sage can be used fresh and dry.

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Basic recipe:

100% Sage
3-5% Iron
Wool (mordanted 10% Alum)

Line the pot with a cloth. Fill the pot half with water and add the sage.
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.

Add 3% -5% iron to the dye bath to turn it a deeper green, if desired.

Remove after about 10min, rinse & dry.

PEPPERMINT CUT FINE~ Dye Colour yellow and green.

Country of Origin: Serbia

Peppermint though uncommon to be used as a dye, I can not recommend it enough. Peppermint gives a deep and vibrant, but warm golden yellow and a beautiful green. Mint can be used fresh or dry for dyeing and needs iron to turn the yellow colour to green. 

Stunning results on silk and wool fibres and can also be used on linen. 

Peppermint is a hybrid mint, a cross between watermint and spearmint. Indigenous to Europe and the Middle East, the plant is now widely spread and cultivated in many regions of the world. It is occasionally found in the wild with its parent species.

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Basic recipe:

100-200% Peppermint (100% if using fresh only)
3-5% Iron
Wool (mordanted 10% Alum)

Line the pot with a cloth. Fill the pot half with water and add the mint.
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.

Add 3% -5% iron to the dye bath to turn it green.

Remove after about 10min, rinse & dry.

NETTLES ~ Dye Colour yellow and green.

Country of Origin: Serbia
Fine for consumption

Urtica dioica, often known as common nettle, stinging nettle or nettle leaf, or just a nettle or stinger, is a herbaceous perennial flowering plant in the family Urticaceae. Originally native to Europe it has now spread worldwide.

Nettles have been used since ancient times and can be eaten, are used in herbal medicine and dyeing.

Nettles can be used fresh and dry - similar to Lovage, the best results are achieved with fresh plants, but dried plant material works well as well.

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Basic recipe:

100-200% Nettle (100% if using fresh only)
3-5% Iron
Wool (mordanted 10% Alum)

Line the pot with a cloth. Fill the pot half with water and add the nettle.
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.

Add 3% -5% iron to the dye bath to turn it green.

Remove after about 10min, rinse & dry.

ROSEHIP SHELLS ORGANIC CUT ~ Dye Colour Yellow and Orange

Harvested in Chile, wild Collection

Wool, Silks, Cotton and Linen can be dyed with Rosehip. It gives a light yellow orange, depending on quantities used. 

*Also suitable for soap making and consumption
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Basic Recipe for orange/yellow:

Basic Recipe for orange/yellow:

100gr wool or silk mordanted in 10% Alum and for 1 hour. 
200g Rosehip

1.Soak 100gr Rosehip over night. 
2.Pour mixture through a cloth, tie off the Rosehip (dye bag) and keep in the dye bath. 

3.To dye: Simmer wool for one hour. Leave in dye bath to cool (will deepen the colour)

Rinse and dry

LEMON PEEL FINE CUT ~ Dye Colour Yellow and Orange

Harvested in Spain

Wool, Silks, Cotton and Linen can be dyed with Lemon Peel. It gives a light yellow orange, depending on quantities used. 

*The dye is not very light fast and might have to be redyed after a few years. 


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Basic Recipe for orange/yellow:

100gr wool or silk mordanted in 10% Alum and 4% Soda Ash for 1 hour. 
100g Lemon Peel

1.Soak 100gr Lemon Peel with 4% Soda in water over night. 
2.Pour mixture through a cloth, tie off the Lemon peel (dye bag) and keep in the dye bath. 

3.To dye: Simmer wool for one hour. Leave in dye bath to cool (will deepen the colour)

Rinse and dry

Glossy Buckthorn Bark Organic ~ Dye colour yellow golden, pinks and reds. 

*Collected in the Wild of Bosnia

To achieve reds and pinks, the PH needs to be increased to 10-11 (alkaline).  Keep in mind to always use PH neutral soap with PH sensitive colours. This dye gives a good green when iron is added and was used traditionally to make artist paint.

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Basic Recipe: 

65g bark, soaked in water for 2 days. 
100g mordanted yarn/fibre (Alum 13g)

Bring pot with dye to simmer For 2h.  
Strain through cloth, add yarn/fibre and dye bag to dye bath for 1h.  
Rinse.

Oak Gall - harvested from the wild in Turkey 

Oak Gall, also known as oak apple was and is still used for making ink. We use it as a fibre Mordant, due to its high tannin content. Unlike other tannin, it doesn't stain the fibre.  

Oak Gall is available as whole, cut or ground.