Sweet Paul Magazine, the newest digimag to completely win me over, featured a piece in their summer issue on how to dye textiles naturally with ingredients readily available at your local grocery store (or farmers market). The tones rendered vary from brilliant and saturated to soft and subtle.
The folks at Sweet Paul Magazine recommend starting with natural fibers for your base then pre-treating it with a salt soak so the colors take more easily. Once you have cooked up your dye you can test it out on swatches until you find the perfect shade.
I’m dying to try it out on a few basic white throw pillows like the Ektorp, available at Ikea ($20), to create a soft dip dyed effect.
Read the full piece at Sweet Paul Magazine for complete instructions and more inspiring images.
Image: Sweet Paul Magazine
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Bad, misinformed article.
1. If you boil wool, you're likely to felt it. You should never boil animal fibres (unless you're aiming for felt).
2. Commercial fabrics needs to be scoured with detergent and a scouring agent prior to dyeing to remove sizing and any grease.
3. Salt is not a mordant. Metal salts like chromium are, but most are highly toxic and should not be used in home kitchens. Fabrics should be mordanted for absorption and lightfastness.
4. Animal fibres (wool) and plant fibres (cotton) dye differently and require different prep methods.
5. Most of the dyes listed will fade within a few months, they are not substantive and have poor lightfastness. Just because something will stain your fingers doesn't mean it will dye fibre.
If you want to learn effective natural dyeing, I recommend "Wild Colour" or "Colors From Nature" by Jenny Dean. She has an informative blog as well.
@alexj, very informative, and thanks for the book refs.
@alexj, very informative, and thanks for the book refs.
@alexj, very informative, and thanks for the book refs.
alexj, very informative especially with the book refs, thanks!
alexj, very informative especially with the book refs, thanks!
I think the idea is awesome! the picture looks amazing!
http://statementpiece.blogspot.com/