Fabric Made With Natural Dyes
According to Straw, before people discovered how to make chemical dyes, they colored and decorated their clothing with natural dyes. People of all cultures took advantage of these plant dyes to create clothing patterns Today, people still use plant dyes to a limited extent for craft projects or as part of the green movement.
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Ancient Dyers
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Ancient dyers often dyed yarn and thread right after spinning it so that they could easily combine colors to create patterns. These materials were woven together by hand to create colorful garments like Scottish tartans and Indian prints. Fabric patterns were also symbolic. A tartan pattern told people which Scottish clan you belonged to. In other parts of the world the color of a person's clothing told others where that person fell in society. According to Quilt History, purple garments indicated nobility.
Modern Dyers
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According to Pioneer Thinking, plant dyes fix best to fabrics made from natural materials like cotton, wool, linen, silk, muslin and hemp. These materials are more porous than synthetics like rayon and polyester, meaning they soak up more of the dye when immersed. Modern dyers using natural dyes should check the labels on the clothing they want to color. A natural-synthetic blend will still take up color, but may take longer or need several immersions to get the desired brightness. Modern clothes also need to be washed to remove sizing and other treatments that prevent the fabric from being stained in transit.
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Plant Dyes
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Plant dyes consist of any plant that produces color when it is boiled or crushed, according to WWWearables. The colors that each plant gives off can be surprising. For instance, dandelion roots produce purple dyes while beets produce browns and tomato vines produce yellow. Different parts of the same plant may also produce different colors; according to Pioneer Thinking, lilac twigs produce a light yellow dye while lilac flowers turn fabrics green.
According to the charts provided by Pioneer Thinking and WWWearables, some general rules to follow are: fruits and berries produce the color or a lighter version of the color than they appear. The leaves, twigs or bark, flowers and roots of one plant may all produce different colors. Flowers do not usually produce the color they appear unless they have very vibrant hues like indigo, bright red roses or sunny yellow safflower.
Fixitaves
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Since plant dyes penetrate fabrics less aggressively than chemical dyes, they require a fixative to help keep the dye from fading. According to WWWearables and Pioneer Thinking, vinegar, salt and heat are common fixatives.
The salts and acids in both vinegar and salt help pull more dye into the fabrics, ensuring that the colors stay bright. Always use white or apple cider vinegar. Formulas from WWWearables use about one part vinegar to three parts water to their dyes. Others replace the water with vinegar altogether; it depends on the dyer. Salt fixatives are recommended for berry dyes.
Dyeing Fabrics
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Dyeing fabrics with natural plant dyes is a simple process. According to WWWearables and Pioneer Thinking, the dyer must chop up the plant materials for the dyes and bundle them in cheesecloth. The bundles boil in water for about an hour or until the plant materials look bleached and pale. The dyer may then immerse fabric directly into the dye or use a sponge or paintbrush to apply it to sections of the fabric. After the fabric dries, the dyer rinses it in cool water to rinse away excess dye and simmers it in vinegar or salt water. When dry, some microwave their work, place it alone in the dryer on high or iron it. The heat makes the dye permanent.
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References
Resources
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