Category Archives: dyeing

dye workshop results

Yesterday I held a day-long workshop in dyeing with plants at the Glasgow Botanics. We worked with a single dyebath of madder, in my eyes one of the loveliest dye plants around, and explored the variety of colours you can achieve from this one bath through the use of different mordants, modifiers and fibres. Each time I teach this class, I see different results! Participants made organic merino yarn and silk fabric shade cards, whereas I dyed a few small skeins and fabrics to expand on the variety of textures and shades…

A few of my favourite results…

Madder on silk, wool and other fibres

Madder on cellulose and silk fibres results in beautiful terracottas and pinks, while on protein fibres, oranges, rusts and reds. I was particularly excited to see a true red on a skein of alum-mordanted Jamieson and Smith Shetland Supreme- normally I’d expect to have to play around with pH to achieve a true red but this was a neutral bath so it must be the type of fibre that resulted in that fantastic shade…

Madder on cotton lace and Shetland yarns

Madder on Shetland (previously dyed with Prunus sp) and Falkland fibre resulted in rust shade

Madder on organic merino with various pre-and-post treatments, tannin/ alum-mordanted cotton and silk velvet and yarns of various different sheep breeds

Organic merino with various pre-and-post treatments (front), tannin/ alum-mordanted cotton and silk velvet fabrics (middle) and yarns of various different sheep breeds (top)

I also added a stunning piece of embroidery to the bath, one that I’d found at my lucky charity shop where I find so many treasures. It was such an incredible piece of work that I was a bit unsure whether to do so, especially after one of the participants, an very talented embroiderer, confirmed that it was highly unusual and skilled work! But the combination of sheer silk base fabric and denser cotton shadow-work was begging for colour to highlight the embroidery so I popped it in!

Thrifted embroidery piece- silk base fabric with cotton shadow-work

It is a little patchy so needs another dip but I’m so thrilled with how it picked up that dusty terracotta colour. Such amazing work.

As part of the day, we took a walk around the gardens in the rain, looking at some of the plants growing there that yield dyes and some of the markers that tell you that a plant might hold dye potential, and it was such a treat to have not only the bed dedicated to dye plants but the entire gardens themselves as a teaching resource. I’m planning to hold more similar workshops there in the spring, by which time I should have more burners, pots and a bounty of foraged dyestuff that participants can really get their hands wet with! A huge thanks to everyone who came yesterday and, if you’re interested in coming to another, keep an eye out here and on Instagram for announcements of dates : )

dyeing with elderberry

dyeing with dyer’s coreopsis

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I’ve been doing quite a bit of dyeing again over the last few months! When we first moved to Glasgow and into our flat, I really didn’t think I’d be able to do much at all as the kitchen is minuscule and there are no windows where I could put jars of dye and fibre to catch the heat of the sun… but, since we don’t currently have a garden and I’m not currently doing any hort work at all, it’s been the finding and collecting of plant material for dyeing that’s been my main interaction with plants, so I had to find a way to be able to then dye with it! So I’ve worked things so that, if I’m careful to be super clean and keep all my dyeing equipment separate, I can actually dye in the kitchen. Happy!

I recently discovered a huge patch of Dyer’s Coreopsis growing in a council bed near Glasgow University and was really keen to try dyeing with it. Despite the temperature dropping and the days shortening, a huge number of flowers have continued to appear, so I got into the habit of swinging by there every morning and picking a handful on my morning walk. Thanks, Glasgow City Council! (Normally collecting plants is a great conversation starter as people are always interested in what you’re going to do with it but, in this case, the students rushing to class were mostly oblivious to the strange woman harvesting flowers!)

So the results…

I’m using my standard method for dye tests with new species so that, though I’m still in the process of gathering a wide range of different fibres to test on, I get a sense of the possibilities of a species:

I’m using an 8ply blend of Jacob, Portland and Leicester Longwool from Garthenor Organics (from Queen of Purls here in Glasgow) that dyes beautifully, I imagine because of the Leicester and Portland components… The large skeins are mordanted with alum and cream of tartar and the short lengths with iron (top) and copper (bottom).
I also added small samples of silk and silk velvet fabrics, mordanted with alum and cream of tartar.
At the top left, you can see two small samples of Polwarth from Tarndie, the original flock of Polwarth sheep in my home state of Victoria, which I added to compare how a yarn that is softer and less lustrous would show the dye- the top one is a pale grey and the bottom a white.
And, to the left, a number of flowers showing the varying ratio of yellow to red found in the flowers…

Coreopsis tinctoria

All of these fibres were dyed in the same bath of flowers that had been covered in hot water, left to soak for 36 hours and then simmered for 1 hour. The bath was then cooled, the flowers removed and put in the freezer for another bath (Coreopsis is meant to be very generous!) and then the fibres added and simmered for 45 minutes.

I then removed the fibres and checked the pH to find it was in the neutral zone so put aside one set of fibres, which became the test set for dyeing at neutral pH (including the Polwarth samples).

Coreopsis, neutral bath

I then added enough vinegar to lower the pH to 3-4, added one of the remaining sets of fibres to the bath and kept it on a low heat for 10 minutes. I then removed and rinsed that set.

Coreopsis, acid

And finally raised the pH to 9 by adding sodium carbonate and added the final set of fibres, again leaving them in for 10 minutes and then rinsing them.

Coreopsis, alkali

And so you can see that, while there is there a huge amount of lovely colour in Dyer’s Coreopsis, it seems to have more of bit more of an affinity with wool than silk. PH definitely alters the result, with acids taking the colour to yellow and alkalis to deep orange and, while the copper-mordanted samples are very similar to those treated with alum/ cream of tartar, the iron samples range from a very dark hunter green to brown.

Coreopsis tinctoria and fibres dyed with it

I think this is my new favourite dye plant! It might have something to do with the fact that I’m still getting used to how dark and grey Glasgow is at the moment but I love its cheerful, sunshine-y colours and the way the dye just poured out of it when I prepared the dye bath! I’m going to try to get the coral-red that is apparently achievable by leaving it in an alkali bath for longer so I’ll let you know how that little experiment turns out…

And in case you’re interested in learning more about dyeing with plants, there is one place left in my workshop at the Glasgow Botanics on November 15- you can find out more via my shop!

black elder

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It’s been lovely to see the elders coming into leaf and now bloom in my neighbourhood, along the trains tracks and out in Mugdock Wood where we go most Fridays.

Elder

People tend to either love or hate elders and, sure, they certainly are voracious growers and the leaves smell funny… but they give in so many ways that they’ve been a favourite of mine for a long time! Although they’re also a weed in Australia, I’ve never had much access to them but have used the flowers for teas (I’ve never made the classic elderflower cordial- have you?!) and the berries for soothing sore throats and, now that there are so many around me, I’m really excited about their dye potential! I love weedy dye plants because you feel like you’re providing a service by harvesting them : )

Elderberries are a favourite of new dyers because they give such lovely shades- depending on the strength of the dye bath and mordant used, from soft pinks, mauves and greys to crimsons, blues and purples- but their dyes are fugitive and don’t last very long… which, of course, is not necessarily an issue and there is real beauty in ephemeral colour but, as a knitter, I want to know that my yarn is not going to fade too much over time, especially in colourwork. So I’m really keen to harvest and try dyeing with the leaves and bark- my favourite Jenny Dean suggests that leaves give golds and tans to greens and greys and the bark buff to grey. I’ll keep you posted as to my results!

And then, this morning (while out on my early morning walk, a new practice partly due to the 5am sunrises over the Glasgow summer!) I stumbled on this beautiful ornamental variety…

Elder

Elder’s characteristic flat plate of flowers

Soft, deep shades

With those almost black leaves and pink buds and stamens, it sure is a beauty. And looking at the flowers up close was heaven…

Pink stamens

Leaves and flowers

Beautiful crimson new growth

Elder’s characteristic warty bark

Elder leaf

The green of the original plant coming through

The green of the original species coming through

Older flowers

So, now I’m asking myself, what colours might this cultivar yield?! Purple-leaved plants, especially trees, often give greens (one of the most elusive colours in natural dyeing) so I’m thinking that this warrants it’s very own dyebath. Now I just need to find a friendly gardener who won’t mind sacrificing a little for me!

edinyarnfest

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Ah, what a weekend! Such a lovely whirlwind and I’m still recovering… I don’t have enough words (or photos) to describe it but highlights included:

1. Setting up for and getting through my first ever show (please excuse the dodgy photos!)…

Stall with the sign that my lovely friend Ella made for me before we headed overseas

Naturally-dyed yarns to show people what they can learn in my dyeing workshops

Colourwork cowls

Colourwork cowl

Because of the light and my dodgy camera skills, I didn’t manage to get any good photos of the pouches that I made for knitters tool or small projects. Here are a few that I took beforehand instead!

Tool pouches made from worn-out Harris tweed jackets

Pouches made from worn-out Harris tweed jackets

2. Meeting many, many folk of varying fibre persuasion, from newbie spinner and knitting-trip-to-Nepal-organizer to university lecturer to some of my biggest knit crushes… heavenly! But again, sorry but no photos- no time and social inhibitions! Thanks so much to all who made me feel welcome in this new home of mine- it was lovely to see the same, familiar faces over the weekend as we are getting so used to not knowing anyone in Glasgow ; )

3. Finding myself in a room of 200+ knitters and feeling like I was part of that scene in Roald Dahl’s The Witches- you know the one where the protagonist gets trapped with a huge roomful of witches who, once the doors are shut, all sigh with relief and pull off their wigs and give in to their inner witch nature? I’ve been around a lot of knitters in my time but this was something else!

4. Listening to some wonderful sheep and other knit recordings, care of Felix of Knitsonik– she’s wonderful!

6. Hearing people talk so lovingly about their products, animals, area of expertise or community. So much love in the building.

5. Having a couple of very quick wanders around the marketplace to enjoy other stallholders wares. I especially enjoyed visiting Helene Magnusson and Susan Crawford and talking to other newbies doing it for the first time…

Helene Magnusson’s beautiful colourwork mitten

Wonderful colourwork from Susan Crawford

Exquisite Steiner dolls and kits from new Edinburgh maker, Stoffoli

5. And, finally, picking out a few treasures for me! There were so many yarns that I would have loved to try, from local dyer Lilith of Old Maiden Aunt to Baaramewe’s Titus to the Finnish strong yarn Ohut Pirkkalanka… but I have my limits! Here’s my haul:

Hebridean/ Shetland from Ripples Craft

Acadia, given to me by the very lovely TFC owner Daphne to try running through the machine

Brooks Blend from my yarn crush John Arbon textiles: Polwarth, Alpaca and Zwartbles!

Brooks Blend DK from my yarn crush John Arbon textiles: Polwarth, Alpaca and Zwartbles!

And some heavenly oatmeal laceweight North Ronaldsay, from those seaweed-eating sheep!

And some heavenly oatmeal laceweight from those seaweed-eating North Ronaldsay sheep!

All in all, a brilliant, exhilarating and exhausting weekend! I can’t wait for next year. (Oh, and I’m going to be launching my little online shop next week with some cowls and pouches to follow so keep an eye out if you’re interested!