Natural materials can be given bright colors with plants. In the course of sustainable and ecologically produced textiles, vegetable colors are becoming increasingly important again. Perhaps you would like to bathe the wool for your winter hat or the silk fabric for your next sewing project in a self-made dye liquor and dye it in your favorite shade.
Beautiful natural colors can be created with plants
What plants are suitable for coloring
Dyeing plants contain dyes that bind firmly to the fibers and are therefore washable and lightfast. One of the best-known is indigo, which gave jeans their typical blue color until around 1900.
There are around 150 dye plants worldwide, some of which are still cultivated commercially today. Below is a list of the most common native plants:
| plant name | characteristics | Achieved hue |
|---|---|---|
| birch | Pioneer tree with characteristically white bark. The dye is in the leaves. | Bright yellow. By adding iron sulphate further development to olive green. |
| nettle | Valuable food for insects and healthy wild vegetables. | Bright yellow |
| Oak | Very frequently used tanning drug. The bark is used. | Brown |
| safflower | Annual flowering plant with showy spines. The petals are used. | Red-orange, golden yellow, brown-yellow. |
| dyer's broom | Butterfly family that was previously cultivated specifically as a dye plant. | yellow |
| woad | Used to be grown on a large scale. Alternative to indigo. Addition of washing soda required for permanent color result. | turquoise, blue |
| madder | Is deliberately cultivated as a dye plant. The crushed roots are used for coloring. | Brick red, rust red, rust brown |
| delphinium | Popular flowering perennial in cottage gardens. The flowers are used. | Lime green, greenish yellow |
| Hollyhock, black | Herbaceous mallow. Grows to a height of one to two meters and is a valued ornamental plant. The flowers are used. | Silver grey, green grey |
| walnut | No stain is required. The soft shells that sit over the nut are used. | Dark brown, copper brown, beige brown |
| onion | Important vegetable and spice plant. The shells are used for coloring. | copper, yellow |
Dyeing with woad is particularly interesting, as the inserted fabrics initially turn yellow-brown. Only through contact with oxygen can you "experience your blue miracle". The fabrics change their tone through the interplay of air and light towards mid-blue.
method
- In order for the vegetable dyes to adhere permanently to the fabrics, they must be stained with alum and/or cream of tartar.
- Tie the plants in a dye cloth and boil them.
- Then place the items to be dyed in and boil them in the dye liquor for one to two hours.
- Important with wool: Do not stir, so that the material does not felt.
- Remove the material from the broth and hang to air dry.
- In the last step, the colors are fixed with acid (vinegar essence).
tips
You can collect dye plants in the wild or plant them in the garden. Most of these plants are undemanding and thrive in almost any soil. Exotic dye plants such as redwood, cochineal or indigo are available from specialist retailers.