
Ready to dive into natural dyeing? Welcome to The Apothecary! Here you'll find our line of natural dyes, mordants, and tools to get you started on your dyeing journey.
7 products






Madder Dye – Cut or Ground
Rich Natural Reds for Dyeing | Wild-Harvested in Eastern Europe
Madder (Rubia tinctorum) is a renowned natural dye that produces a stunning range of reds—from warm oranges and rich brick reds to deep blood reds and fiery crimson tones. The final shade depends on multiple factors, including soil conditions, root age, mineral content of the water, dyeing temperature, and fibre-to-dye ratio.
Dyeing Tips:
Colour Fastness: Excellent – Madder is known for its durability and deep, lasting hues.
Discover the beauty of natural dyeing with madder and create your own unique reds!
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Recipe for Wool: Downloadable PDF
Recipe for Plant fibres: Downloadable PDF
Also available as dye kit!
Madder Dye Kit for Plant Fibers: Available Here »
Madder Dye Kit for wool & Silk: Available Here »
(Adjust quantities as needed to achieve your desired shade. Water quality will influence colour result. Oranges instead of reds are often more likely)
IMPORTANT: The higher the temperature, the darker and browner the final shade.
Join The Natural Dyers & Growers Academy to share your experiences and get support from fellow growers.
OAK GALL
Use: Cellulose Fibre Mordant | Harvested From: Aleppo Oak in Turkey | Also Known As: Oak Apple | Recipe: link below
Oak Gall, also known as Oak Apple, is harvested from the Aleppo Oak in Turkey and is a traditional mordant used for cellulose fibres. Due to its high tannin content, it is an effective mordant for preparing cellulose-based fabrics for natural dyeing. Unlike other tannin-based mordants, Oak Gall only stains the cellulose fibre a light beige, making it a preferred choice for delicate dyeing projects.
Key Features:
Function:
Oak Gall is used to prepare cellulose fibres for natural dyeing, helping the dye adhere to the fabric without leaving stains. Its high tannin content ensures vibrant and durable colours on cellulose fabrics like cotton, linen, and hemp.
Storage & Usage:
Perfect for natural dyers and textile artists working with cellulose fibre. Please see this recipe for mordanting cellulose with Gallotannin
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.
Colourfastness: Excellent for dark colours, good for lighter colours
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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
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.
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.
You can repeat this dyeing process using the same dye bath several times.
Logwood Dye
Dye Colour: Blue, Purple & Black | Collected in the Wild in Haiti
Logwood, also known as Bois de Campeche or Campeachy Wood, is a natural, pH-sensitive dye that originates from wood found in Central America. This versatile dye creates stunning blues, purples, and deep blacks on wool, cotton, and silk. While its colour fastness is considered poor by experienced dyers, Logwood is commonly used in combination with other dyes to achieve rich, deep blacks. Perfect for eco-conscious artists, Logwood is available as cut or ground bark for your dyeing projects.
Colour Fastness: Poor (best used with other dyes for black)
Product Details:
Basic Recipe (Using Ground Bark):
Ingredients:
Instructions:
Alternatively, soak the Logwood chips overnight, then boil for 1 hour before use.
For Logwood extract, please visit our Natural Dye Extracts Page.
Explore the potential of Logwood Dye for a range of vibrant blues, purples, and blacks in your natural dyeing projects!
Organic Ground, Cut, or Whole Hibiscus Flowers
Vibrant Pink & Purple Hues for Dyeing | Cultivated in Egypt
Hibiscus flowers are an excellent choice for natural dyeing, offering stunning shades from light purples to deep pinks and even greens, depending on the mordant used. Ground Hibiscus produces a lighter purple hue on wool, while cut or whole flowers yield more vibrant tones. This pH-sensitive dye is perfect for hobby dyers and children’s activities, as it offers interesting colour shifts - from green to purple to pink - and an experimental approach to dyeing.
Dyeing Tips:
Colour Fastness: Poor (colour may shift with pH changes)
Basic Hibiscus Dye Recipe:
A delightful and experimental natural dye, perfect for adding beautiful, ever-changing shades to your projects!
Join The Natural Dyers & Growers Academy to share your experiences and get support from fellow growers.
RHUBARB ROOT
Dye Colour: Yellow Brown, Green (with Iron), Pink (with Soda Ash) – pH and Mordant Dependent | Country of Collection: China
Rhubarb root is a captivating natural dye, producing a spectrum of colours that vary depending on the pH of the dye bath and the mordant used. Known as a Quinone dye, it is rich in tannins, which yield earthy yellow-brown and green hues with iron. A higher pH will shift the colour to delicate pinks or reds, though these tones are less colourfast. Notably, the yellow and green shades are more stable, maintaining their colour for longer.
Colour Fastness:
pH Sensitivity: High pH will shift the colour to red.
Colour Outcomes by WOF Ratio & pH/Mordant:
Basic Recipe for Wool:
Instructions:
Explore the versatility of Rhubarb Root as a natural dye and unlock a range of rich, pH-dependent colours in your yarn and fabric projects!
TARA POWDER ~ is a natural tanning product
Grown in the mountains of Peru.
Tara powder will stain the fibres grey and it is recommended to use a strong dye so the colour isn't too influenced. I am using it for plant dyed flax fibres and LinCot yarns and found, that it actually adds some more depth to the colour.
Basic Recipe:
Please see our blog post on How to mordant linen and cotton fabrics successfully – AppleOak FibreWorks
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