The Horticolourist

We finally have some natural plant dyeing action!   Although I should point out that, while there's not always physical stuff to show each month, there's definitely more knowledge being gained from research. This time I did everything by the book, including scouring the fabric and then mordanting the fabric.  This time I was taking no chances! This horrible gooey mess is gently steaming Vaccinium myrtillus - more commonly known as  blueberries!   The blueberries needed crushing in the bottom of the pan before adding the water and then bringing to boiling point before simmering.   After all that was done - oh the smell! - I just needed to cool it a bit to get all the fruit out of the pan - I wasn't completely successful with removing all the pith, but it brushed off the finished silk scarves when dry. And then the magic started to happen once the silk was in the pan and gently simmered. I knew that blueberries give a grey colour - but had no ...

Happy New Year!   This is the year for me to become organised and creative and productive.  I hope! Nothing physical happened with regard to plant dyes in December, but I did more research and have started to make lists about which plant materials I can use going through the year.  I have a big list of things I need to do in the garden so just need to work out how to store the materials before I start chopping back - Malus (apple) and Pyrus salicifolia (pear), I'm coming for you!  As these trees are the first to be chopped in the new year, I need to start prepping the fabric ready for the colour washes.  It's very exciting! Watch this space!

November has pretty much been about research and sourcing materials but there has been no practical progress at all.   The scarves that I had dyed back in the summer have been re-used - I think I've decided that silk is probably the best way to go, rather than the cotton, as I wasn't really sure it was a 100 per cent cotton which doesn't help.   I have all the kit I need to start scouring my silks and to start dyeing, but I have no room at the moment - Christmas has taken over!    I have set up my sewing area in the spare room, but at the moment that is covered in Christmas presents, which means the stuff on the dining table has not made its way upstairs yet.  Once the presents have been delivered to their respective recipients, then there'll be more room on the table, which means I will have more work areas.    I'm feeling suffocated with STUFF at the moment - and I don't feel able to actually produce anything with limited space.   I rea...

This month, I've been doing more research, including driving around the lanes of Norfolk checking out wayside plants and laybys!   My own garden is quite small and so I have to be very efficient with space.  Sadly that means I can't plant things just because I might need them for plant dyes, especially when I'm not sure I'm going to like the colours that are produced, and also I don't know the quantities of plant material I'll need yet.  I'm hoping to forage quite a lot of the plants I need and this means hedgerows and countryside grass verges - hence the need for laybys to avoid congestion and potential hazards!    I've also been researching how to prep the fabrics I'll be dyeing - the colours I achieved on cotton earlier this year were very muted and so I've been doing my homework on "scouring" the fabrics to ensure it's completely clean of anything that might be hindering taking up the plant colour.   Luckily, most of th...

Sadly, nothing new to report from September on the plant dyeing front - I've actually been on holiday since mid September for four weeks in the Lake District, becoming absorbed in the turning of the colours as we head through autumn.   Because I've been away for quite a while and have had a proper chance to relax, I've been catching up on reading too - and have been following a few natural plant dyers on Instagram.   Being away from home and all its distractions - namely, housework! - means a chance to occupy myself with research and planning. I am very much looking forward to putting all of this into practice soon ... watch this space!

Sadly, I have absolutely nothing to show for August - real life has taken over.   I have been making plans though and have signed the paperwork to drop my days at work from November and am hoping to spend one day a week making and using my plant dyes.  I have ordered some silk scarves online - which took forever to arrive, so I need to have a standing order set up for those each month so I never run out.  I need to prep this fabric ready for colouring - and I now have some alum ready to do so.  I also have a set of digital scales - received for my birthday from my sister - as the quantities I need of the mordants are so small that normal kitchen scales just wouldn't be precise enough.   I'm actually going on holiday in a fortnight for four weeks, so have taken the decision that other things need to take priority before I go - shopping, packing, planning, etc - which means that plant dyes unfortunately have to take a back seat until mid October at the very ea...

July has mainly been about more studies and research into plant dyes - I have had another go at dyeing the cotton scarves I had, but the colour still isn't coming out too well.  I visited a dyeing event recently where the craft ladies doing the demonstrating all use acid and synthetic dyes, rather than natural plant dyes.   And they told me in no uncertain terms that plant dyes are more difficult to use, which sort of makes me more determined to crack it! I have discovered however that animal products are easier than plant products to take dye, so I've ordered some silk scarves which arrived the day before I went on holiday.  So I'm going to have another go with the silk scarves and try again with the cotton ones at a later date.   The beauty is that I can dye and re-dye so nothing is ever wasted. These are my attempts with Curcuma longa (turmeric) and Coffea arabica (coffee).   It's coming along, although very slowly, but we'll get there. ...