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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

Interview: Appalatch Apparel Sees Natural Dyes As An Ethical & Environmental Bonus

Sunday Visit: Some Kind Of Blue with Kenya Miles of Blue Light Junction

Every Sunday, Botanical Colors sits down for an interview with a luminary in the natural dye, textile and art world. Grab a cup of tea and settle in to learning about someone you never knew! Catch up on all our Sunday Visits here. This week’s Sunday Visit we catch up with Kenya Miles, to have a deep and meaningful conversation around what the color blue means. How Blue Light Junction came to be and how through community and craft we can hold space for each other to learn to learn. We had a wonderful phone interview that honestly left me … Read more

Mordant Monday: Kakishibu (Persimmon Tannin)

Kakishibu samples clockwise from top: paste resist by Kentaro Kojima, silk, cotton sashiko thread, cotton with iron, soda ash and kakishibu alone. Natural dyes are fascinating because we can see the history of human curiosity and imagination as it interacts with the natural world. Like, who looked at a hard, green, horribly astringent, inedible persimmon fruit and thought “You know, there’s probably an amazing, insect-repelling, anti-microbial, water-resistant, beautiful color in there if I just ferment it for a couple of years with a slice of eggplant.” Who, exactly? Whoever that clever person was, we have them to thank for one … Read more

acorns and a spoon of tan powder on pale fabrics

MORDANT MONDAY: Which Plants Need Mordant?

We get mordant questions all the time at Botanical Colors so why not create Mordant Monday??? Got mordanting questions? Email [email protected] I keep getting mixed answers from people about dyeing with plants from my yard and whether I need to mordant or not when using them. Advice? I think some of the confusion arises over what plant we’re talking about. Many plants contain high levels of tannins and these can be used to mordant and dye in one step, rather than using the traditional mordant method with aluminum sulfate or aluminum acetate. Traditional tannin mordants include: Common garden and kitchen … Read more

Video From LIVE FEEDBACK FRIDAY: Growing Dye Plants From Seed

This week’s FEEDBACK FRIDAY featured lots of helpful information to grow, harvest and dye with your own dye plants from seed. Watch the video recording here: Plant Workshop’s Milisa Moses, Botanical Colors’ President Kathy Hattori and Botanical Colors’ Sustainability Director Amy DuFault went over the basics of growing, harvesting and dyeing with your own dye plants starting from seed. We featured a few of the varieties that we love to grow and showed you what colors come from them. Milisa gave guidance for starting your own seeds and Kathy and Amy showed some dye techniques and colors achieved from a … Read more

Video From Live FEEDBACK FRIDAY: Growing Dye Plants From Seed

Video From FEEDBACK FRIDAY: Maibe Maroccolo of Matricaria Maps Brazilian Dye Plants

Last week, we welcomed Brazil-based artist and educator Maibe Maroccolo of Matricaria who is mapping Brazil’s dye plants. Maibe’s most recent work has been focused on mapping and sharing both the wisdom of plants from Brazil and preserving the traditional methods of their uses. Her mapping project has become official as the Research Project of Flora Brasileira Tintorial. Watch the recording below. All links to Maibe Maroccolo: Website Instagram Facebook YouTube Pinterest About Maibe: Maibe is an artist and educator. She holds a masters in sustainable development from the University of Arts London. After a period of studies and specializations … Read more

Our Top 8 Picks For The Most Durable Natural Dyes

We get asked A LOT about which are the most durable natural dyes in our shop. By durable, we mean dyes that excel in both light and washfastness. But as we always say to people when they ask us to point them in that direction, there’s lots of questions we have for YOU around your lifestyle and wash practices and natural dyes. For instance, do you use a harsh detergent? Do you wash your dyed clothing daily? Do you hang dry or put on high heat in the dryer? Is it a silk blouse or a cotton napkin? How often … Read more