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Pomegranate Extract

Pomegranate extract (Punica granatum), is known as anaar in India and granado in Spain. It grows wild in India, Italy, North Africa and China. The pomegranate also serves as a symbol in many cultures. It is a common motif in Christianity, the fruit of choice on the Jewish holiday, Rosh Hashanah, and a recurring token in Greek and Roman mythology. It continues to serve a symbolic purpose in Greek culture, showing up in weddings, funerals, new home purchases, and the new year, serving as a symbol for abundance, fertility, and good luck. Some use pomegranate extract as both a tannin-rich … Read more

Wattle Extract

Wattle is a member of the Acacia family. People use it extensively in leather tanning as it works very well for even coverage and penetration of skins and pelts for tanning. Australia, South Africa and India grow most wattle. They most commonly extract the Black Wattle to create the dye. Natural dyers use wattle extract as one of the rich tannins to create iron-based grays and blacks or to overdye with indigo to create interesting muted greens. The color is a beige with a pink cast. Additionally, it has a characteristic toasty wood smell. For more information on how to … Read more

Aquarelle Himalayan Rhubarb Liquid

Aquarelle Himalayan Rhubarb Liquid is an easy to use liquid natural dye that creates a beautiful gold or brown on natural fibers. Shifts in pH will create more yellow or nearly brick red colors. It makes a wonderful olive green when combined with Saxon Blue in the dye pot. For more information on using liquid dyes, please see our how to page. Please note: Aquarelle Himalayan rhubarb liquid works best with wool and protein fibers, and is less intense on cellulose fibers. Himalayan rhubarb is a traditional natural dye from the Himalayan mountains between India and Bhutan. The plant grows … Read more

Chlorophyllin Green Dye

Let’s talk about chlorophyllin green dye. Although chlorophyll is the most common green plant color in the natural world, it is tricky to use as a dye. To create green as chlorophyll in its raw state is not stable for textile coloring. That’s why grass stains fade to buff and deciduous leaves lose their chlorophyll and change to brilliant red and gold in the fall. The vivid green of the natural world is a photosynthesis engine but not necessarily a robust dye. There is however, a preparation where chlorophyll green dyes fibers and that is by using chlorophyllin. Chlorophyllin is … Read more

Marigold Mix

We are especially pleased at how well marigold mix dyes cellulose fibers. So it’s a great way to create that sunny yellow on cotton and linen. (Kamala extract works best with animal fibers and silk.) For details on how to use marigold mix, please see our page on natural dye extracts. Marigolds are native to Central America but are used as temple flowers in India and used lavishly during the Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) when Mexican families celebrate their departed loved ones. Elaborate altars and memorials are festooned with flowers, special sweets and remembrances of family … Read more

Cream of Tartar

Cream of Tartar (COT) is a white powder often used in baking to help stabilize meringue. It is a byproduct from the sediment left behind in winemaking – another use for a waste product! In natural dyeing, we use cream of tartar to acidify the dye bath to act as a color changer. It’s also used in mordanting to soften wool fibers. As well, I’ve read that it helps aluminum sulfate bind more strongly to the fibers. Depending on the dye, it will shift cochineal, madder and lac to brighter, redder colors. With madder, it will shift the hue to … Read more

Natural Dye Inks from Nuts, Wood and ‘Shrooms – 6 Varieties

Natural Dye Inks from Nuts, Wood and ‘Shrooms We offer 7 ink varieties created by Judi Pettite of Biohue, our ink maker extraordinaire. Each variety is from diverse materials such as black walnut, historic dye woods and dye mushrooms and all are beautiful! Judi Pettite started BioHue in 2006 after falling in love with colors she was getting from plants. Since that time, she has foraged, purchased or grown the materials for her art. She makes her inks and watercolors intentionally from the fewest ingredients possible. This minimalist approach also allows the personality of the plant to come through. We … Read more