Botanical Colors Archives - Botanical Colors

MORDANT MONDAY: To Mordant Or Not To Mordant + Disposing Of Mordant Baths

We get mordant questions all the time at Botanical Colors so why not create Mordant Monday??? Got mordanting questions? Email [email protected] What is Mordanting? Mordanting is the most important process of preparing fibers to accept color. Using a mordant helps to ensure the most durable and long-lasting colors. With the exception of indigo (as a vat dye, it does not require a mordant), this is not an optional step. However, there are many different mordants you can use. Deciding which mordant to use comes down to the types of fibers you want to dye and how much time or energy … Read more

Mordant Monday: Tannin Workshop Review

Mordanted fat quarters in iron, marigold, indigo, marigold+indigo, logwood, logwood+ indigo, logwood + marigold and logwood + marigold+ indigo. Both Cara and I taught new online workshops about tannins and natural dyes this month. Cara introduced Tannin Grayscale, a fascinating look into using iron and tannin to create a rich range of deep and moody neutrals. I had envisioned that this would be a workshop on gray, gray and more gray, but the surprise was that her techniques create some beautifully saturated shades. My workshop was Tannin Rainbow, where I concentrated on combining different tannin mordanted fabrics with natural dye … Read more

RSVP for BOTANICAL COLORS’ COMMUNITY GATHERING

Join us this week, January 24, 9am PT/Noon ET for our first ever Community Gathering. We kick off our event with the intention of welcoming you into a textile community to provide encouragement, listening and connection. We are here for each other and as act of determination and hope. To participate, click the link to RSVP and Zoom will send you the login information. Can’t wait to see you all! RSVP HERE

SUNDAY VISIT: Kristin Arzt & Her World of Rainbows

Sunday Visit is our interview series where we sit down with a luminary, visionary and creative in the Natural Dye world. We want to bring you the best of what is out there and show off all of the amazing work being done in our community. This week we sit down with Kristin Arzt, who we fell in love with when she made her incredible rainbow coveralls. We catch up with the new mama, and learn all about her practice and what makes her tick. Tell us all about you! How did your practice come to be? I’ve always been drawn … Read more

Mordant Monday: Tannin Extravaganza!

TANNIN A TIMELESS MORDANT For Today’s Mordant Monday, we are highlighting all things tannin. Tannins are a bitter and astringent compound found so abundantly in many plants. In food, they serve as the slight pucker in black coffee and tea, and the “oaky” flavor in aged wines. Tannins are used in medicine and for leather tanning. For us, they are the natural dyer’s not-so-secret-weapon to beautiful color. For the natural colorist, tannins provide a rich base for unusual and eye-catching combinations, and they’re particularly effective on plant fibers such as cotton and linen. We have a variety of tannins for … Read more

Sunday Visit: Ceilidh Chaplin of BillyNou

Sunday Visit is our interview series where we sit down with a luminary, visionary and creative in the Natural dye world. We want to bring you the best of what is out there and show off all of the amazing work being done in our community. This week, we have Ceilidh Chaplin of BillyNou. Ceilidh rose to notoriety with her incredible YouTube Channel she created with her partner. She has an organic and whimsical aesthetic to her practice and takes us along on her journey. Read more to learn about her relationship to motherhood, ice dyeing and not being too … Read more

Sunday Visit: Dream Making with Sara Buscaglia

For Sunday Visit, Botanical Colors sits down for an interview with a luminary in the natural dye, textile and art world. This week we sit down again with our inspiring friend Sara Buscaglia of Farm & Folk. Sara is an organic farmer, natural dyer and textile artist residing in the high desert of southwest Colorado. Her inspiration is found in the paradigm shifting slow processes of tending soil, seeds, and plants. Through her experience of being directly connected to food, natural color and fiber she has gained an understanding and appreciation of their true value. We hope you join us for her upcoming … Read more

Sunday Visit: Kristin Field of Field & Gardener

For Sunday Visit, Botanical Colors sits down for an interview with a luminary in the natural dye, textile and art world. This week we visit with the inimitable Kristin Field of Field & Gardener who has an upcoming workshop with us! Grab a cup of tea and settle in to learn about someone you never knew! Catch up on all our Sunday Visits here. We are huge admirers of your Shibori bursts, can you tell us about how this process originated for you? Thank you so much! When I first learned about capping, the thought of putting an ecoprint in the … Read more

Sunday Visit: The Storytellers Studio Coat with Jody Alexander

For Sunday Visit, Botanical Colors sits down for an interview with a luminary in the natural dye, textile and art world. This week we visit with the inimitable Jody Alexander who has an upcoming workshop with us! Grab a cup of tea and settle in to learn about someone you never knew! Catch up on all our Sunday Visits here. We are so excited to host you this October! Can you tell us a little bit about the origin of the Studio Storyteller Coat? I love the ethos of mending and repair as a thread that ties your work together. We … Read more

Sunday Visit: Monica Medeiros of Bricolage Press

For Sunday Visit, Botanical Colors sits down for an interview with a luminary in the natural dye, textile and art world. This week we visit with Monica Medeiros of Bricolage Press. Learn about Monica’s history of print making and how she blends her love of letter press with natural dyes. Grab a cup of tea and settle in to learn about someone you never knew! Catch up on all our Sunday Visits here. Tell us about your origin story? How did you first find the medium of natural dyes? I started natural dyeing in earnest when I started gardening and trying … Read more