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
-------------
Colourfastness: Poor

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

HENNA

This henna can also be used for dyeing yarn and hair, as well as for making tattoos.  Henna will give you browns, orange/red on hair.

 Colourfastness: Medium - good

A little info on Henna from Wikipedia: 

Henna (Arabic: حِنَّاء‎‎) is a dye prepared from the plant Lawsonia inermis, also known as hina, the henna tree, the mignonette tree, and the Egyptian privet, the sole species of the Lawsonia genus.

Henna can also refer to the temporary body art (staining) based on those dyes (see also mehndi). Henna has been used since antiquity to dye skin, hair and fingernails, as well as fabrics including silk, wool and leather. Historically, henna was originally used in Egypt and then the Arabian Peninsula, Indian Subcontinent, parts of Southeast Asia, Carthage, other parts of North Africa and the Horn of Africa. The name is used in other skin and hair dyes, such as black henna and neutral henna, neither of which is derived from the henna plant.

 

------- 

Basic Recipe: 

100g dye, diluted in cold water.
100g yarn/fibre. 

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

BIRCH LEAVES DYE ORGANIC (Betula pendula) ~ Dye Colour yellow and green

A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus Betula, in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech-oak family Fagaceae.

Colour fastness: Good

-----------

Basic Recipe:

Alum (mordant) 15% D.W.F
Dry birch leaves 100-200% D.W.F

Soak the leaves for a day before using.

Boil the soaked leaves for one hour and drain. Add the alum to this solution and simmer the yarn for half to one hour.

*If the yarn is dried without rinsing and then placed in a weak birch ash lye, the colour becomes a reddish yellow.

**You can change the colour to green by adding 5% Iron.

Dyer's Broom cut

Traditionally used for dyeing yellow and green. The green will be more on the tan side.

Basic recipe:

100% Broom
10% Alum
3% Iron as green option

Mordant as required, extract broom in 85C degrees Celsius for 1h. Remove dye, switch off pot and add your item and leave overnight. Treat with iron as an after mordant. Rinse, wash.

Colour fastness: medium

ORGANIC HAWTHORN BERRIES ~ Dye Colour original beige/yellow - with iron: silver grey, grey green

Origin: Hungary

Hawthorn berries are rich in tannin and can be used to dye wool and silk (careful with iron, if pure silk) silver grey, grey and grey green. The colour palette is soft and earthy as you can see in the yarn pictures attached. Both yarns have been dyed with hawthorn.

Colourfastness: Poor - medium
___________________

Basic recipe:

10% Alum
100% Hawthorn
1 -3% iron

Mordant yarn with 10% Alum either hot at 85 degrees celcius (185F) for one hour, or cold for 12h-24hrs.

Extract Hawthorn for 1-2 hours at 85 degrees celcius (185F). Strain dye.

Add mordanted yarn to dye liquor and leave for 1h at 85degrees/185F.

Add Iron to modify the colour, if you wish. The more iron you add the greener the colour. Aerate, between dips. Don't leave the yarn/fibre/fabric in the iron bath for long, about 5-10min is enough.

Rinse and hang to dry.

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

*Walnut Shells powdered harvested in the wild of Macedonia 

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

Colourfastness: good

---------------

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.

Dried Organic Walnut Shells ~ Dye Colour golden and dark Browns

*harvested in the wild in Croatia

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!

Colourfastness: Good - Excellent

---------------

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.

BIRCH BARK (Betula pendula) ~ Dye Colour pink, browns, salmon

A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus Betula, in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech-oak family Fagaceae.

Colour fastness: poor - medium

-----------

Basic Recipe:

Alum (mordant) 10-15% D.W.F
Birch Bark 100-200% D.W.F

Pour boiling water over the bark and steep for 24-48h

Boil the bark for two hours and strain. Add the mordanted yarn to the bath and leave until desired colour outcome or overnight.

*You can change the colour using iron, or other shifters like soda ash or citric acid

ROSEHIP SHELLS ORGANIC CUT OR GROUND ~ Dye Colour Yellow and Orange

Eastern Europe

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
-------------
Colourfastness: poor - medium

Basic Recipe for orange/yellow:

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

1.Soak 100gr Rosehip overnight. 
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

Wheat Bran is an incredible simple by product of the bread making industry. We use it to remove guar gum from mordanted fabrics, improve water quality for dyeing and feeding our indigo fermentation vats. 

Rule of thumb for dunging or guar gum removal: 10g/L

Please be aware that this is an agricultural product for animals and does not have the human consumption label. 

ALDER CONES (Alnus glutinosa)


Alder cones, just like the bark, have tannins present and can create some lovely browns and yellows.

Colour fastness: medium - good

-----------

Basic Recipe:

Alum (mordant) 10-15% D.W.F
Alder cones 100-200% D.W.F

Pour boiling water over the cones and steep for 24-48h

Simmer the cones for two hours and strain. Add the mordanted yarn to the bath and leave until desired colour outcome or overnight.

*You can change the colour using iron

Neutral Henna Powder ~ colourless henna. It is also known as Cassia Obovata

Netural Henna is made from pure henna leaves of different quality and neutralized chemicals.

Neutral Henna Powder gives little or no colouring effect. I personally find that it gives a more natural look to lightened hair. It is used for hair conditioning and gives a natural shine & lustre to hair. Safe and free from any side effect, this henna  is widely used by those people who desire to benefit from the medicinal uses of henna but do not want to colour their hair.

It also has a powerful antimicrobial and antifungal properties that have been used for centuries to treat common hair and scalp conditions such as lice, dandruff, psoriasis and ringworm.

- Adds volume
- Adds extra shine-
- Makes your hair feel and look thicker
- Deeply conditions and protects your hair
- Strengthens hair strands by filling in the damaged pockets in the follicles
- Elongates curls, giving hair more definition and length

USAGE
Mix ½ cup (50 g) of Neutral henna powder with ¼ cup (59 ml) of warm water. Double quantity for long or full hair. Stir to combine. Once you’ve mixed the powder and water, cover the bowl with plastic and let it develop at room temperature for about 10 minutes.

Apply this paste uniformly on hair with the help of a brush or massage in.

Cover hair with a plastic cap and leave it for around 15 to 20 minutes for a little colour 1-2h.

Rinse off hair with plain water.