I am interested in dying chicken feathers. Can you guide me. The color that I am most particularly interested in achieving is "peach" and "eggshell." Thanks much.

Virginia

I have never dyed chicken feathers, but I would presume they would dye the same way as any protein fiber. You didn't say what your dying experience was, i.e. whether you wanted to use synthetic dyes or natural dyes. My experience with the synthetics is very limited, but if I were using natural dyes for peach, I would mordant with alum sulfate, and dye in Quebracho red or a 2 color mix of madder and myrobalan. I would suggest you experiment with proportions to get the colors you want to achieve. Good luck!

Stefie

I am experimenting with lichens for natural dyestuffs. I have read about wonderful dyes being produced from lichens when they are fermented. My questions are: do I use water or urine for the fermentation process? How long does it need to stand before I can use the dye? I am after colours in the red/purple part of the spectrum, so do I need to use a particular lichen or will they all produce these colours? I've spoken with someone who extracted indigo dye the "old-fashioned" way, so I have been warned. Can you help?

Thanks,
Carol

Thanks for the lichen question, as it caused me to do a little research. I have never dyed with lichens, but would like to!

Here's what I have found. There are many different kinds of lichens, and they do not all give the same colors. So the first step would be lichen identification. Everywhere I looked gave caution in lichen collection that the sight not be picked entirely to leave enough for regrowth.

The book that I found most helpful is Karen Leigh Casselman's, "Craft of the Dyer", Dover Publications, Inc., New York, 1993. She goes into detail on two processing methods for lichens, a Boiling Water Method, and an Ammonia Fermentation Method. With the latter, the process is opposite of that for indigo; in the indigo vat, it is necessary to remove the oxygen (hence the use of a reducing agent like urine), while in the ammonia fermentation method, the object is to get as much oxygen into the solution as possible for dying to take place. From what I can gather, it can be a bit tricky with judging the amount of ammonia used, the length of fermentation, and the amount of oxygenation--so, just like playing with an indigo vat, we need to experiment! I don't know how the results differ between the two methods or if one has an advantage over the other. I guess we just do it and see!

Trudy VanStralen's book, "Indigo, Madder, and Marigolds" has a section on dying with lichens, but I think she just uses one species while Karen Casselman suggests several.

Good luck. Let me know how it goes!

Stefie

I am a 6th grade girl doing a science fair research paper on natural dyeing. My topic is natural dyes, my problem is "Do all plants have natural dyes?". and my hypothesis is "I think that all plants have natural dyes, because all plants have natural pigments, and pigments make dyes.". I have to do a research paper on the history of natural dyes and natural dyes today. What information could you give me to help me out? I would appreciate your answer as soon as possible, because my research paper is due on the 15th of October.

Thanks

Maria

Pssst Maria, Did you know Stefie used to be a school teacher?—Carol

Your premise that all plants are sources for dye may not be entirely correct. All plants have pigment because they all have chlorophyll which we see as green. That isn't necessarily what the dye chemical is that we use for dye. Queen Anne's lace, for example, does not dye white or green that we see in the plant, but yellow because of the dye compound inside the plant.

You asked about some of the major dyes and their history. This information comes from Michelle Whipplinger who has a natural dye house in Seattle, WA called Color Trends.

FUSTIC: Fustic appears to have its greatest history in Guatemala. It was used to dye wool a gold color for the blankets made there and to dye cotton green in combination with indigo. With the colonization of the Americas, fustic became the primary yellow dye for the settlers, because it was available and cheap.

MADDER: Madder is one of the oldest and most frequently used ancient dyestuffs known. It has been used primarily to dye cotton deep brick red. It has the most extensive history in Europe and Asia. Throughout Asia, Madder is used as a medicinal.

In the Americas, madder was found in pre-Colombian textiles from the Paracus period, and from Araucanians of Northern Argentina and Chile. Post-conquest, the Araucanian Indians continued to use madder especially in combination with cochineal, to extend the use of cochineal (which was expensive even then). In both Bolivia and Peru, it has been used to dye cotton and alpaca.

COCHINEAL: This is a red dye derived from the cochineal beetle found on cacti in Mexico and South America.

Cochineal was listed on the tribute list to Monteczzuma. During pre conquest times it was used as cosmetic, a pigment for wood, clay, and basketry, and a stain for cotton. Southern Oaxaca was the prime producing area. Cochineal was imported into Europe as early as 1520, and it was an item of commerce by 1540. At this time it ranked second only to precious metals, and it totally replaced the use of kermes in Europe.

LOGWOOD: Logwood, along with cochineal and indigo, were important items of export to Europe following the Spanish conquest. The Aztecs used it as an ink and to dye food. Logwood was used to dye alpaca and cotton in Peruvian pre-Colombian textiles from the 6th through the 14th centuries. Bloody disputes were occasioned between the Spanish and English over this tree. The British seized ships leaving the Bay of Campeache and then burned the Logwood as fuel, until they realized that this dyewood fetched 100 Pounds per ton on the European market. Thus pirateering ceased and the British started cutting and shipping their own Logwood from Honduras. Today, aside from being used on a small scale for textiles, it is used as a lab stain, as a mild astringent by pharmacists, and to color leather and hosiery.

INDIGO: Indigo is the only natural blue dye used by many cultures in unrelated placed on every continent. Its history is illustrious. Independence in India (1947) was fought for and won in part because of the commercialization of indigo. A famous jeans company, Levi Strauss has based its entire business since 1873 on one color, indigo blue. Each culture, each village, each dyer, has a unique way of making the magic of indigo work. Indigo, more than any other natural dye process, is elusive. Rituals surrounding the success of the extraction and dye process abound.

I hope this has helped. There are many other dyes, of course, but these are the most important ones.

Good luck on your paper.

Stefie

i have some questions about indigo ink.

1) where would u find this product.( i have heard that sealions have been dyed with it to hide any bite marks from their friends)

2) do u know how or if it becomes toxic when applied on the skin( i also heard a band/tribe of ancient peoples used it for war paint.

3) could the colour mixed to be brown to shades of dark brown

4) how permanent would it be if applied to the skin.how long would the colour remain (2 weeks-3 weeks)????

thanks for any info

soo

I'm not sure if you are talking about indigo we use as a dye, or about India ink. As far as I know, there is no indigo ink. India ink is a permanent, jet black ink you can find in any office supply store.

Indigo is an ancient dye stuff, derived from the plant, Indigofera suffruticosa. The pigment because useful only through a vat fermentation process with the aid of an oxygen reducer. Many cultures used urine for this purpose. I use a chemical call Thioureadioxide. Without an oxygen-free environment, the dye pigment can't be released to any other material--i.e., it won't dye! So I can't see how this would be used in an ink, unless the dye in the ink were a synthetic.

It's true, some ancient peoples did use blue war paint. The Picts, for example, painted their faces blue using a dye extract made from woad, a plant related to indigofera.

I don't know anything about its use on sealions!

As far as toxicity, I certainly wouldn't ingest any liquid from an indigo vat, but topically, there's no problem! On cloth, this is a very fast dye and does not fade much with light or washing. I've gotten it on my hands while dying, and with much scrubbing, it comes off within a few days.

I hope this answered your questions.

Stefie

Hi Stefie,

My name is Isiah. I am doing a science project on which makes the best dyes: plants or vegetables? My mom and I wanted to know if you could give us the names of any vegetables and plants that would work well for this project and how we would go about extracting dye from them. Any help that you could give would be greatly appreciated.

Isiah

Go to my web site. Under "The Forum", you will find an article on natural dyeing which will give you the whole process. There is also a list of several sources for dyes and a bibliography if you need more information. Good luck on your project.

Stefie

I would like to know how to dye wool. I want to dye a beret camoflauge.

Jeremy

Go to my web site. Under The Forum, you will find the last article is on natural dyeing and will give you the whole process. To dye something camoflauge, I would mordant, tie-dye the article in osage, untie, and then overdye in indigo. Make sure the article is made of natural fibers. Natural dyes don't work with synthetics. For that you would have to go to synthetic dyes.

Good luck,

Stefie

My sister gave me some cashmere yarn to make a sweater for her, but as I knitted it, my fingers became stained with the color. The sweater is completed, but what can it be put in to set the color better? I had been told that vinegar or salt water will set it, but with the expense and time that went to the making of the sweater, I don't want to ruin it now. Can you help me? Thank you.

Alaura

Hello,

You aren't going to ruin it if your treatment is gentle. First, the reason the dye is coming off (this is called crocking) is because excess dye wasn't rinsed out. In yarn and fabric from a lot of places, particularly China, this often happens because they don't have an adequate water supply to "waste" it on rinsing. OK, what to do. Salt can be used as a leveling agent. This will absorb and take away the excess dye. Get some coarse salt, like that used for making pickles, and dissolve some in hot water. Soak your sweater in the salt solution, swishing gently. Drain; gently squeeze out the excess water, and then wash the sweater in a ph neutral soap like Liquid Tide (make sure you get the kind that is just soap--no whiteners or brighteners!). Rinse several times and lay flat to dry.

Good luck,

Stefie

See Note on washing wool sweaters under Garment Care.

Hi, I have a question about dyeing with dirt. I am aware that this was done centuries ago but am at a loss in finding more information on techniques for my project. I wish to dye cotton fabric with a dirt dye stuff. I am currently using dirt from the Australian outback and am not sure if any dirt will do. I would appreciate any information you would have on this subject.

Thanking you,

Carolyn "From down under"

Hi Carolyn,

I have dyed with dirt only once, in a workshop with Michelle Whipplinger, an expert in the art of natural dyes. Her company, Color Trends, produces many extracts of natural dyes. She teaches throughout the world and has done much work in promoting the art, as well as much research into the dyes, themselves.

As my experience is limited, and I have no idea how to make the preparation as she had it for us to use. I do know it works. As for the kind of dirt to use, I would imagine its success as a dye-source has to do with the kind of minerals that are in the soil. You would be best off contacting Michelle: Michelle Whipplinger
Color Trends
5129 Ballard Ave.
Seattle, WA 98107
phone: (206)789-9676

I know this type of dyeing is exciting to her, and she would be eager to help.

Good luck,

Stefie

I am a weaver and natural dyer. I grow my own Madder. I get both red and orange dyes from the roots of these plants. Please tell me how I can get more red and less orange as I extract the dye. Thanks alot.

Richard

Hi Richard,

The soil plays an important part in the amount of color chemicals in the plant, as does the amount of water. In the dye materials, are they coming off the same plant or in the same year, and still giving different results? Watch consistency in growing your plants.

Secondly, madder will brown out if the temperature in the dye process goes over 165 degrees F. Try to keep it no higher than that. Let the fiber stay in the dyepot during the cool down for a richer color.

For more red, try adding some cochineal to the dyepot. Also, Color Trends has a wonderful madder-lac dye extract you might want to try. For their phone and address, look at some of the other dye questions on this page. There are all kinds of resources listed.

Good luck,

Stefie

I have returned from Vietnam with fabrics from the ethnic minorities-indigo dyed. How does one set these colors? Is it best to have them dry cleaned or wash in a special solution like vinegar?

Thanks for your reply. If this is not relevant to your cite, no need to answer.

Thank you,

Dorothy

Hi Dorothy,

Your question is VERY relevant to what I do! Usually, in far eastern or South American countries some very fine fiber artistry occurs. Unfortunately, they don't have the clean water supply to rinse out all the excess dye, be it a natural dye or a synthetic one. As a result, the fabrics run when we wash them.

You need to rinse your fabric. Neutralize with vinegar, and then use a ph neutral soap like Liquid Tide or Orvis. After that do as many rinses as it takes until the water runs clear.

I hope this helped.

Stefie