Sometimes I wonder ‘How many surprises can a single garden harbour?’ Other times I think I should know better than to ask! … More Coreopsis: A vibrant start to a summer of solar dyeing
Towards the end of last year, as leaves tuned colour, the weather turned colder and frost threatened some tender dye plants, I began to plan some more dyeing experiments; a combination of trying to replicate previous colours and discover new ones. This potential for new colours comes as we explore further what plants will thrive in our clay soil, and in hot dry summers that can transition to cold waterlogged winters overnight, or in the … More Natural Plant Dyeing: Adding a fabulous new orange to the palette with Bidens
As the temperatures soar here I thought it was time to get going with solar dyeing and what better place to start than with my amazing hollyhocks. I love hollyhocks and have grown them for years so you can imagine my disappointment when the first few hollyhocks planted here failed to thrive. I had been kind to them giving them both their beloved sunshine but also the relief of a little shade later in the … More Natural Dyeing with Hollyhocks: Stunning Results from The Black Knight
In my previous natural dyeing post I talked about using a new to me method of low intensity dyeing that used the heat generated by our woodburning stove and time. Today I thought I’d share a quick guide to this approach so you can easily see how you could adapt it to suit your circumstances, and integrate elements of it in your dyeing practice should you wish to do so. If you’ve never dyed before, … More Low intensity natural plant dyeing in Winter: A simple, step by step, anyone can do it, guide
I took and enforced break from natural dyeing in the run up to the New Year because I had exhausted my stocks of undyed yarn to use as a base. So, it was with great anticipation that I returned to it in the New Year having ordered more yarn in the UK and having been given a totally new yarn fresh from the mill by a friend. All the anticipation in the world couldn’t have … More Natural Dyeing with Loquat leaves: When nature blows your mind