natural dyes for wool?

[quietH2O]

I'm not sure this is the right category.... but couldn't find a wool processing forum; so...

I sheared, skirted and washed a sheep fleece yesterday. Today I'm finishing dying and drying it so I can begin carding and spinning - and hopefully find the time to knit something this summer.

I'm hoping to get some advice from some of you with your personal experience using natural dye sources. Saffron does a beautiful job, but it is so expensive. It's difficult to beat the intensity of color achieved with chemical dyes, but I'd like to find less expensive, safer dying processes.

Has anyone ever used stinging nettle? I have an over abundance of it!!!! I'd use gloves of course, but don't know what color, if any, I would end up with. How about thistle?

I hate to ruin a perfectly good fleece experimenting. I'd love to hear from you about your own experiences with natural dying. What works, what doesn't? How much would I need of the materials to get a good color. Some of the fleeces I dye are natural colored (gray or brown) so the color would need to be strong and really grab and hold well.

[QueenoftheFlock]

Hi there! I knew someone had asked about this and could not remember who it was or where I had seen it :)

I visited a spinning friend this weekend and specifically asked her about natural dyes. She told me that she does not use natural dyes and the reason is that you have to use something else (something nasty if I am recalling correctly) to make sure that the natural dye will "set" and stay in the wool. She said she would love to use natural dyes but the extra time and effort (and not so great of an outcome) is not worth it for her.

Hope this helps.

[pinetreefarm]

Hi, I am a spinner. Have been for 40 years. I only use natural dyes. The mordants I use to set the colors are ones that are "not nasty". You can use vinegar for example. Natural dyes will fade a bit after any washings though. Any dye book with list the safe mordants to use.

Pine

[quietH2O]

I have used vinegar with the chemical dyes and it works well. What do you use for the color? Would rose hips work? I've got quite a few of them, what color would I get?

I'd love to "pick" your experienced brain, Pine. Do you buy raw fleeces and process them yourself? I'd love to know how you wash without getting some felted slubs throughout the wool.

QuietH2O

[QueenoftheFlock]

Hi, *I am a spinner. *Have been for 40 years. *I only use natural dyes. *The mordants I use to set the colors are ones that are "not nasty". *You can use vinegar for example. *Natural dyes will fade a bit after any washings though. *Any dye book with list the *safe mordants to use.

Pine

Pine, I definitely stand corrected. It sure seems like she said something like you needed powdered aluminum (?) etc.

I apologize for misinformation and bow to your expertise - thanks for the correction!

[pinetreefarm]

I used to gather green and flowers from the roadside. Have used cattails. Colors are subtle depending on the mordant you use. Now I am more confined to our own property. I gather acorns, onion skins from the garden, beets, I have never used rose hips because the few I have gathered, I use for jelly.

Let me gather my wits about me and I will post some of the mordants I use to create what colors. Just bear in mind most of the colors are more subdued than the artificial dyes.

Pine

[packyderms_wife]

Pine, I definitely stand corrected. *It sure seems like she said something like you needed powdered aluminum (?) etc. *

I apologize for misinformation and bow to your expertise - thanks for the correction!



Potassium aluminum sulphate - Alum! It's the same exact alum you use for making pickles etc. Folks see the world aluminum and panic. Don't!!!

You need one ounce of alum per pound of wool any more than that and your wool will become stringy. I use a couple of heaping table spoons for my mordant bath.

Make sure you clean your fleeces really well before you start the mordanting and dyeing process. Sometimes a couple of dollops of dish soap - such as dawn - in the mordant water will help break the remaining oils on the fibers.

I just joined today and it'll take a few visits to get used to this forum style. I've been dyeing for 15 years plus now, I dye several thousand yards of cotton and silk fabrics and several hundred pounds of fleece each year. If you have questions do ask, there are no dumb questions when it comes to handle these sorts of things.

Oh and as a energy saver I heat my mordant water, put in my wet fleece, simmer for about 5 minutes, cover and remove the heat - let it sit overnight. Your fleece will absorb the most mordant using this method.

There is an article by Nest Rubio in the Spring 1993 issue of Spin-Off Magazine on cold water dyeing and it is a MOST excellent article, I've been using this technique since '94.

Kimberly

[packyderms_wife]

I'm not sure this is the right category.... but couldn't find a wool processing forum; so...

I sheared, skirted and washed a sheep fleece yesterday. *Today I'm finishing dying and drying it so I can begin carding and spinning - and hopefully find the time to knit something this summer. *

I'm hoping to get some advice from some of you with your personal experience using natural dye sources. *Saffron does a beautiful job, but it is so expensive. *It's difficult to beat the intensity of color achieved with chemical dyes, but I'd like to find less expensive, safer dying processes. *

Has anyone ever used stinging nettle? *I have an over abundance of it!!!! *I'd use gloves of course, but don't know what color, if any, I would end up with. *How about thistle? *


Saffron is fugative and not worth the money for dyeing your fleeces, save it for cooking instead.

Thistle and nettles will give yellows to yellowish greens to khaki greens on wool depending on the mordants you use.

Pre-mordant your wool using a couple of heaping tablespoons of alum. Remove your fleece and drain, you can spin it in the washer to remove excess liquid.

Prep your dyebath:

Chop up your greens, you can use a food processor if you like, and put into a pantyhose leg, tie up. Throw into simmering water - NEVER EVER boil a natural dye bath unless all you are wanting is brown.

Simmer for an hour.
Shut off heat.
Allw to sit overnight.

Next day remove pantyhose and add fleece, heat to a simmer, and allow to simmer for an hour.

At this point you can either remove the fleece or remove the heat and allow to sit in the dye bath overnight. I leave mine overnight.

Remove fleece and spin out excess liquid using the washer.

Fill washer up again, place fleece in the washer allow to sit for 20 minutes and spin out the liquid. You may have to do this several times until the water runs clear.

If you want a khaki green to brown, take your fleece out of the dyebath, and add a pinch of iron mordant. Replace the fleece to the bath and allow to simmer for 15 minutes. Your color shift should be immediate.

Follow rinsing instructions as above.

Kimberly

[packyderms_wife]

Hi, *I am a spinner. *Have been for 40 years. *I only use natural dyes. *The mordants I use to set the colors are ones that are "not nasty". *You can use vinegar for example. *Natural dyes will fade a bit after any washings though. *Any dye book with list the *safe mordants to use.

Pine

Vinegar is a modifier not a mordant - mordants are metal salts. If you want permanent color you will have to use a mordant. Alum is a permanent safe mordant to use for natural dyeing.

Other modifiers are citric acid, cream of tartar, etc.

Tannic acid is used as a mordant but is NOT a metal salt. You need tannic acid, or tannin, when dyeing cotton, linen, or rayon fibers/fabrics.

Kimberly