This week: Bundle dyeing with zinnia flowers and a spotlight on, and recipe for, versatile wattle dye.
Learning: Recipes, Instructions & More
Easy and Fun DIY Indigo Dyed Easter Eggs
Here’s a fun way to do some easy DIY indigo-dyed Easter eggs! About Food says that “Easter falls in the spring, the yearly time of renewal, when the earth renews itself after a long, cold winter. The word Easter comes to us from the Norsemen’s Eostur, Eastar, Ostara and Ostar and the pagan goddess Eostre all of which include the season of the growing sun and rebirth. The ancient Egyptians, Persians, Phoenicians, and Hindus all believed the world began with an enormous egg, thus the egg as a symbol of new life has been around for eons.” I have always … Read more
DIY Ombre Yarn!
We love this article by Scissor Variations on how to DIY dye yarn at home. Though the author suggests Dylon dyes, we’ll direct you here to all of our natural dyes that will help achieve the same results with much less toxicity. Check out the step by step process here and have fun (not to mention try not to drool from her beautiful pictures)! Image: Scissor Variations
Dyeing for Dummies: Natural Dye Poster Child-Indigo
Indigo has a long standing history of heavy-duty power in terms of economics and trade and is probably one of the most talked and written about dyes in the natural dye world. We love the color blue and all its moodiness. It’s also very in for fall 14. Get ready for the navy explosion! For this Dyeing for Dummies, I have put not only myself but husband and daughter in the cross hairs of looking foolish, over exuberant, and dummy-like. (Side note, they had a blast and refuse to be called dummies.) We used all of Botanical Colors’ dyes and … Read more
Recipe! Food Waste, Indigo and Natural Dyeing With Cara Piazza
This past Saturday I taught a natural dye workshop in the backyard of my friend’s Cyd and Neal’s vintage store – The Grand Street Bakery. A vintage store set in a converted old bakery, fully equipped with awesome vintage threads hanging on repurposed baking racks, stocked with natural apothecary, magazines and generally some of the best vintage buys you can find in New York. They also have an incredible backyard space so I thought a food waste workshop in a converted bakery with vintage oasis? Perfect. Working with donations from Reynard at the Wythe Hotel, and juice pulp from the … Read more
Dyeing For Dummies: The Wonders of Cochineal
Like I’ve said before, working for a natural dye guru like Kathy Hattori can give one an inferiority complex. I hate inferiority complexes for me or anyone else, so when feeling less than, I say take on the thing that most scares you (unless it’s skiing). In this particular case, I accepted the challenge of cochineal and a Tussah Silk Gauze Shawl that is also on the Botanical Colors site. In the instructions that Kathy gave me, it said to use a coffee grinder or spice mill to grind up 1 tablespoon of whole cochineal (for a dark red which … Read more
Dyeing For Dummies: The Mysteries of Walnut Hull Powder
Working for a natural dye guru can give a social media director and consultant (that’s me) an inferiority complex. In fact, when people ask me who I work for and I tell them, Kathy Hattori, a “natural dye guru,” and they say “Oh, you must be really good at dyeing,” all I can do is shrink back a bit and say, “I’ve only dyed once…and um, that was with Kathy.” The look of surprise too many times on people’s faces got me thinking, why WASN’T I trying to learn how to dye? Why was I letting Kathy and all her … Read more
Power Panties Rule
It’s so easy to brighten up your underthings with lush natural dye colors like cochineal, lac and madder. Materials Any natural fiber underthings – socks, camisoles or panties. Look for 100% cotton, Modal, Tencel, silk or bamboo fiber content. Fiber blends like wool/cotton or silk/cotton or nylon also work well. Microfiber, polyester and acrylic will not take the dyes. The dye process includes mordanting, then immersing in a dyebath, rinsing and drying and you are done! Safety A dust mask is recommended when measuring Aluminum Acetate as it is a fine powder that smells like vinegar and may be irritating. … Read more
Make An Easy, Organic Indigo Vat
In 2009 and 2010 I had the opportunity to study with natural dye master Michel Garcia. He is a marvelous and knowledgeable teacher, fascinated with using the chemistry of simple ingredients to create natural colors. One of the things that he demonstrated to us was to be fearless about the indigo fermentation vat. What a gift! For me, the indigo fermentation vat has always been a mystery and I could never quite figure out all the details so I never pursued it. I was getting great and consistent color with my lye and soda ash and chemical reducing agents, so why … Read more
