Natural Dyes Archives - Page 23 of 32

Henna Indigo Vat Questions for FEEDBACK FRIDAY

Each week, we are emailed with questions from our natural dye community asking simple and complex questions that we thought might be worth sharing. Here are a handful from this week answered by natural dyer in chief, Kathy Hattori, Founder of Botanical Colors: After using the 1-2-3 indigo dye vat, do you need to mordant the now blue skein before you overdye with yellow to get green or madder to get purple? If you are overdyeing with a dye that does not require a mordant (like walnut hulls, for example), then you do not need to mordant after indigo dipping. … Read more

EILEEN FISHER & Botanical Colors Launch Botanical Collection

We are so excited to announce our Botanicals Collection with EILEEN FISHER! Check out our indigo, madder root, and ground pomegranate peel on EILEEN FISHER’s organic handkerchief linen here. “Embracing natural dyes means embracing nature-from its unique colorations to all its perfect imperfections. It’s really thrilling to see EILEEN FISHER surge ahead with a beautiful and natural dye offering and to have involved us in this project. We are honored,” says Kathy Hattori, founder of Botanical Colors. As part of EILEEN FISHER’s rigorous Vision 2020, the company is taking on toxic dyes, human rights as well as sustainability in an … Read more

Green on Wool Yarn with Indigo Questions for FEEDBACK FRIDAY

Each week, we are emailed with questions from our natural dye community asking simple and complex questions that we thought might be worth sharing. Here are a handful from this week answered by natural dyer in chief, Kathy Hattori, Founder of Botanical Colors: Do you have any tips on getting a crimson red on cotton from cochineal? Been trying so many different ways and can’t get the concentration to stay! The majority of the historical recipes for very deep and bright red on cotton use madder, not cochineal. Your best bet if you want the deepest shade on cotton is … Read more

Getting Good Gray Colors for FEEDBACK FRIDAY

Each week, we are emailed with questions from our natural dye community asking simple and complex questions that we thought might be worth sharing. Here are a handful from this week answered by natural dyer in chief, Kathy Hattori, Founder of Botanical Colors: Do you have any advice on how to get a consistent grey? I am answering this in two parts. One, how to get a consistent, non-blotchy color and two, how to get the same color in multiple dye baths. Here’s the answer to the first question. Most gray recipes are a combination of a tannin dye with … Read more

Henna and Iron 1-2-3 vats for FEEDBACK FRIDAY

Each week, we are emailed with questions from our natural dye community asking simple and complex questions that we thought might be worth sharing. Here are a handful from this week answered by natural dyer in chief, Kathy Hattori, Founder of Botanical Colors: I’ve used henna in a 1-2-3 vat and love it but would like to get darker colors without redipping if possible. Is your recipe for the iron and henna online? We get very dark colors from henna but it is always through multiple dips. Do note that henna vats are stronger after several days of “ripening.” Indigo … Read more

Natural Dye Technique Questions for FEEDBACK FRIDAY

Image: Honest Alchemy Each week, we are emailed with questions from our natural dye community asking simple and complex questions that we thought might be worth sharing. Here are a handful from this week answered by natural dyer in chief, Kathy Hattori, Founder of Botanical Colors: I am dyeing logwood on wool and only getting a brown color-what is happening? The rich purple color from logwood can be affected by cream of tartar. If you normally mordant with cream of tartar, try omitting it in the mordant process. You may also enhance logwood by adding a pinch (less than 1/8th … Read more

An Interview With Textile and Shibori Guru Joan Morris

Internationally acclaimed textile and shibori guru Joan Morris last visited us in 2015 and we are pleased to welcome her back to teach with Botanical Colors this July. Shaped-resist dyeing is an elemental textile art that is thousands of years old. In Japan it’s known as shibori, but it has been made worldwide for almost as long as dyes have been applied to textiles. Joan’s history with natural dyeing and textiles is extensive so we are lucky to catch her for an interview. Here’s what she had to say about the history of shibori, popular techniques and the best advice … Read more

blue yarn over an indigo vat in a white bucket

3 Tips to Lower Water Use When Natural Dyeing

Growing Blue reports that 2.5 billion people (36% of the world population) live in water-scarce regions and more than 20% of the global GDP is already produced in risky, water-stressed areas. Given today’s accelerated pace of human development and the slow pace of managing issues as complex as water resources, tomorrow’s challenges are already at our door. For this year’s Water Quality Month, whether individual, collective, agriculturally focused or industrially inclined, addressing water scarcity begins with you. We’ll call it (cough) the ripple effect. While you work on some possible real-life scenarios for making change, we’ve created 3 tips to … Read more

How To: Bundle Dyeing Easter Eggs With The Dogwood Dyer

Some of the Best Quilting Cotton Was Hand-Dyed in Japan Thirty Years Ago

Okan Arts imports vintage Japanese yukata cottons for adventuresome quilters. Okan Arts, owned by textile and natural dye artist Patricia Belyea, is a home-based shop in Seattle, bursting with over 1,000 bolts of vintage Japanese cotton. Hand-dyed by artisans in Japan from 20 to 50 years ago, the cottons radiate luscious colors and a graphic boldness. Simple cousins to the gold-enhanced reproductions of kimono silks typically found in quilt shops, these yukata cottons were made for casual unlined summer kimonos. “The summers are hot in humid in Japan so breezy, light kimonos made of cotton are perfect. Silk kimonos are … Read more