MAKING NATURAL DYES FROM PLANTS

Making natural dyes from plants, fruit and flowers can be a fun project for boys as well as for girls.

These days, kids seem to get bored even faster and keeping them occupied at home during the school holidays can be an uphill battle.  If you don’t like the idea of them being glued to a screen all day and want to get them outside into some fresh air, then making natural dyes from plants, fruit and flowers can be a fun project for boys as well as for girls.

SOURCES OF DYES:

Many sources of natural dyes can be found in your kitchen and garden: onion skins, carrots and the spice turmeric can all be used separately to make orange coloured dyes; rose hips and elderberry will produce reds; roses and lavender mixed with mint and lemon juice make a vibrant pink; and blueberries will make .. well ummm …… blue!
For those of you who wish to create specific colours then a fuller list of some of the plants and flowers that are needed is given below.  However, it can also be fun to simply experiment with some roots, seeds or flower petals to discover the colours and shades you can create on your own.
When gathering plants for dyes, do make sure that your berries are ripe and that flowers are picked in full bloom.  Do not over pick a plant since you want to leave the plant with enough seeds and growth potential to re-establish itself.

EQUIPMENT YOU WILL NEED:

A dye bath (eg. a large saucepan that no-one minds becoming stained)
Another large saucepan for the fixative process
Rubber gloves (essential unless you wish to dye your hands as well!)
A large spoon for stirring the dye mixtures.
A large sieve
A large bowl (an old clean plastic washing up bowl should be adequate)
Pieces of white pure cotton fabric (eg. old cotton sheets tore into smaller pieces and old or inexpensive white cotton t-shirts).  Other natural fabrics such as muslin, silk and wool can also be used.  Do not try to dye synthetics or natural fabrics that also contain some synthetic material.

It is highly recommended that children wear old clothes and aprons to protect from splashes of plant dyes; you can be sure that, where paints and dyes are involved, children will inevitably get splashed somewhere.

HOW TO MAKE YOUR DYE SOLUTION:

Cut your plants or roots into small pieces and place them into your dye bath/saucepan.
Then pour twice the amount of water to the amount of plant pieces you have into the bath.
Place the saucepan onto the hob and bring it to the boil.
For Flowers: boil for 20 minutes. Then strain the liquid through a sieve into your dye bath ready for your fabric. Note: the fabric needs to be soaked in the fixative before dyeing – see below.
For Bark, Roots and other hard substances:  First soak these in water overnight.  Next day, bring the liquid to the boil and allow to continue for half an hour whilst making sure the liquid doesn’t all boil away.  Strain the remaining liquid off into a container and then add more water to the bark/roots and boil again.  Repeat this process 3 or 4 times until no more dye can be extracted from the plant material. Having poured the liquid off a number of times you should now have an intense colour liquid ready to use for dyeing your cloth.

COLOUR FIXATIVES:

Your fabrics will need to be soaked in the fixative before you can start dyeing them.
For dye made from berries, you will need 250 grams of salt to 2 litres of cold water
For dye made from plants, you will need 1 part of white vinegar to 4 parts of cold water.
Some plant materials may need cooking quality Alum as a colour fixative.  Alum can be ordered on the internet if you are unable to find it at your local chemists.
Before making your dye, place your fabric into a saucepan with the appropriate fixative and simmer for one hour.  Then rinse the fabric a number of times, squeezing out the liquid each time until the water runs clear

HOW TO DYE YOUR FABRIC:

Place your wet fabric that has been soaked in the fixative into your dye bath.  Bring to the boil and simmer until the required colour is achieved.  Do not try and dye too much at one time.  There should be room for the item being dyed to be spread out otherwise it may become patchy in colour.
Remember that the colour of the fabric will dry a lighter shade.  For a darker, stronger shade, allow the fabric to soak in the dye solution over night.

OTHER IDEAS FOR DYING FABRIC

These include tie dyeing or painting a pattern with the dye onto a t-shirt.
To prevent the dye passing through from the front to the back of the t-shirt, insert a sheet of thick cardboard between the two layers, prior to painting.
Note:  Although you have used a fixative for your fabric it is advisable to launder separately any clothes that have been treated with natural dyes.
Note: Children should be supervised at all times.  Check that plants that you are using are not poisonous to humans or animals when using them for natural dyes.

BOOKS ON THE SUBJECT:

There is an excellent book for identifying poisonous plants that has been published by the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew.  The book Poisonous Plants: A Guide for Parents & Childcare Providers by Elizabeth Dauncey will be invaluable for showing you which plants you should avoid planting in your garden if you have children.
Another interesting book is Amy Stewart’s Wicked Plants: The A-Z of Plants That Kill, Maim, Intoxicate and Otherwise Offend.
For a more comprehensive understanding of dyeing with natural plant materials, Complete Guide to Natural Dyeing by Eva Lambert is well worth reading.
Other books on the subject include Jenny Dean’s Wild Colour: How to Grow, Prepare and Use Natural Plant Dyes plus her Colours from Nature: A Dyer’s Handbook
The following is a list of plants useful for making specific colours.  Please note that plant dyes will vary in shade and intensity depending upon how long they have been soaked and boiled for.  Plus, natural colours can vary from plant to plant.

PLANTS  FOR  MAKING  DYES:

To Make Yellow Dyes:
Bay leaves  – yellow
Onion (skins) – requires Alum as a fixative.
Marigold (blossoms) – yellow
Hypericum/St. John’s Wort  (flowers & leaves) – gold/yellow
Celery (leaves)
Dandelion flower
Tea ( ecru color)
Paprika -pale yellow – light orange
Turmeric (spice) –bright yellow
Sunflowers – (flowers) – yellow
To Make Orange Dyes:Onion (skin) – orange
Carrot – (roots) orange
Giant Coreopsis (Coreopsis gigantea) Yields bright permanent orange with alum as a fixative.
Butternut – (seed husks) – orange
Eucalyptus – (leaves and bark) beautiful shades of tan, orange and brown
To Make Green Dyes:
Spinach (leaves)
Snapdragon – (flowers) – green
Black-Eyed Susans (ie Rudbeckia Hirta flowers) – olive to apple green
Grass (yellow green)
Red onion (skin) (a medium green, lighter than
forest green)
Yarrow – (flowers) yellow & green shades
Peppermint – dark kakhi green color
Chamomile (leaves) – green
To Make Pink Dyes:
Strawberries
Cherries
Raspberries (red)
Roses and Lavender, plus some mint and lemon juice to activate the alkaloids and make a bright pink dye.
To Make Red Dyes:
Elderberry – red and red/purple
Dandelion (root)
Beets – deep red
Rose (hips)
To Make Blue and Purple Dyes:
Red cabbage – blue
Mulberries – purple
Grapes (purple)
Blueberries – blue
Cornflower – (petals) Need alum to fix the blue
Blackberry (fruit) strong purple

Source: http://www.mysheenvillage.com/just-kids-magazine/making-natural-dyes-from-plants/