Natural Dyeing

(Click on each image for which dyes are pictured above)

I love pattern and textile design, and jump at every chance I get to experiment with fabric. Last summer I took a natural dyeing class at the workroom with the lovely Julie Sinden. We used a number of natural dyes, my two favorites probably being Madder, which can range from a brown to red, and Logwood, a bluish grey.

We even did some shibori with Indigo. Indigo is actually quite interesting – you have to keep it alive like yeast, and it’s not dark blue – the dye vat is more of a clear greenish yellow. And when you remove the fabric you are dyeing from the dye vat, exposing it to oxygen, it is then that it turns blue. To get it a dark blue, you must dip it many many times. The shirt I dyed ended up a pretty pale blue (due to time constraints) but it’s still great. I’ll try to take a picture and post it.

This week, natural textile dyer India Flint (blog) is giving a lecture at the Textile Museum of Canada on Wednesday – check it out if you’re in Toronto!