Natural Dyes Archives - Page 28 of 32

Botanical Colors a Featured Voice on Fashion Traceability

Botanical Colors founder Kathy Hattori was recently interviewed by the New York City based apparel production and ethical design facility, Brooklyn Fashion+Design Accelerator on natural dyes and color in the fashion industry. BF+DA writer Kelly Drennan writes: “Taking transparency to the next level is traceability – a system that provides information on the farming, production, packing, distribution, transportation, and sales processes of a particular item of clothing. By reducing the difficulty of accessing this information on a product’s life cycle, traceability has the potential to increase conscious consumption.” If in fact, consumers are wanting to know more about where their … Read more

blue yarn over an indigo vat in a white bucket

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

Silk & Willow’s Shellie Pomeroy Brings Poetry to American Made

Based in the Hudson Valley in New York, Silk & Willow dyes silk into some of the most poetic, luxe colors we’ve ever seen. Founder Shellie Pomeroy says “I continue to create and explore products that will compliment our ribbon line. I am passionate about hand crafted items of the highest quality and materials sourced from ethical companies. All of the materials used by Silk & Willow are either biodegradable (including the packaging & tags) or can be easily re-used or recycled. A finalist in the Martha Stewart American Made contest which “spotlights the maker, supports the local, and celebrates the handmade,” we also call Pomeroy … Read more

Han Purple: A 2,800-Year-Old Color Quantum Physicists Are Trying to Understand

According to Ancient Origins, “Han purple is an artificial pigment created by the Chinese over 2,500 years ago, which was used in wall paintings and to decorate the famous terracotta warriors, as well as ceramics, metal ware, and jewelry. The pigment is a technological wonder, made through a complex process of grinding up raw materials in precise proportions and heating to incredible temperatures.” Used as far as 800 BC, it was not used in art until the Qin and Han dynasties (221 BC – 220 AD), when it was applied to the world famous terracotta warriors, as well as ceramics … Read more

Vermont Artist Dyes Fabric With Sumac And Indigo For Janis Joplin-Inspired Clothing

VPR, Vermont NPR writes: “Recently, NPR has been exploring the concept of color and the impact that rich hues have in our day-to-day lives. That’s a topic that’s near and dear to one Northeast Kingdom artist. Graham Keegan makes fabric dye from plants that he harvests near his Kirby home — plants like wild sumac and home-grown indigo. His natural dyes attracted the attention of a clothing line that pays homage to Janis Joplin. The late singer’s niece, Malyn Joplin, has launched a clothing line called “Made for Pearl,” and she’s hired Keegan to design and produce fabric.” Check out the … Read more

EXHIBIT: The Drawing Center Features ‘Thread Lines’

IF IN NYC….”This group exhibition features sixteen artists who engage in sewing, knitting, and weaving to create a wide-range of works that activate the expressive and conceptual potential of line and illuminate affinities between the mediums of textile and drawing. Multi-generational in scope, Thread Lines brings together those pioneers who—challenging entrenched modernist hierarchies—first unraveled the distinction between textile and art with a new wave of contemporary practitioners who have inherited and expanded upon their groundbreaking gestures. More info here on the Drawing Center site. Image: Ellen Lesperance (b. 1971, Minneapolis, MN) at the Drawing Center

Upstate’s Designer Breaks Down Shibori Dyeing, GIF-Style

Ok, so this GIF-Style guide to shibori dyeing on Racked is completely amazing. While they don’t use natural dyes, let us suggest our very own Indigo Shibori Kit that is a fan favorite. Now, get reading this story because it’s awesome. “Upstate‘s beautifully dyed designs may look like they were crafted in a Catskills cabin, and lovingly hung on a twine laundry line (by friendly sparrows) to dry, but they are, in fact, made in a Greenpoint studio by shibori expert Kalen Kaminski. We stopped by the East River space to get a one-on-one lesson in the ancient Japanese fabric … Read more

Fun Natural Dye Chart by Collective Individual

Do you know what natural dyes make what colors? We loved coming across this fun chart from Collective Individual.

‘Water and Earth’ on View at Gallery 51 in North Adams, MA

Gallery 51 manager Julia Morgan-Leamon and North Adams, Massachusetts artist Sarah Sutro, who has a studio in the Eclipse Mill, have curated a group show of 10 local, national and international artists, in “Water and Earth,” a call to protect fragile ecosystems. “Sutro brought the idea to the gallery. It has roots in a trip abroad, she said. She lived in Bangladesh for two years and in Thailand for four. Bangladesh is a burgeoning society, she said. It has come through rough conflict in 1971 and has begun to develop: Small businesses are coming back and are open to sharing … Read more

Going ‘Underfoot’ With Natural Dye & Textile Artist Brece Honeycutt

Natural dye and textile artist Brece Honeycutt says that over the past few months, her studio wall has been transformed into an installation of handmade sculptural books, “some stacked on shelves or wedged into small crates, and others hung directly onto the wall so that the pages cascade down,” giving the viewer, another way of seeing nature. This weekend, Honeycutt’s installation, a deliciously earthly narrative will feature works on paper and cast-off textiles at the Knox Gallery in Monterey Massachusetts, for a solo exhibition called Underfoot. The exhibition will showcase interpretations of old books happened upon in archives, showing their … Read more