Color By Nature

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To prepare your dye bath, bring water to a boil in a pot large enough to allow fabric or fiber to move freely, allowing plants to simmer for an hour or more; most plants need to steep in water before fabric is added, and the longer they soak, the greater the intensity of the dye.

Next, add your fabrics or yarn, maintaining the bath on low-medium heat. When simmering fiber in a dye bath, the vividness of each plant hue will vary, so experiment with small sections first. The longer the fiber remains in the bath, the more intense the hue. Keep in mind, however, that fabric or yarn will lighten after it is rinsed.

Mordants are adhesive compounds that fix plant dyes to fibers and can be added to the dye bath, or a separate bath, before or after dyeing. Chemical mordants, such as ammonium hydroxide and chrome, are caustic and can cause skin and respiratory-tract irritation. Chrome is toxic to kidneys and a potential human carcinogen, and chrome-based mordant baths must be treated as household hazardous waste. Non-chemical mordants, such as rhubarb leaves, staghorn sumac (as opposed to poison sumac) leaves and oak galls, work just as well, but these can also be harmful. Rhubarb leaves, a natural source for the chemical mordant oxalic acid, are poisonous if consumed in large quantities, so keep these away from children and pets. Alum and urea are safer chemical mordants, but take care in handling alum as it can cause skin irritation.

Shopping Suggestions

Organic Seeds

*The Thyme Garden ($1.85; www.thymegarden.com, 541-487-8671)

*Horizon Herbs ($2.85 and up; www.horizonherbs.com, 541-846-6704)

Dye Supplies

For non-gardeners, the following companies sell mordants and ready-made dyes made from plant, root, berry and vegetable extracts. Do remember that all powder dyes, no matter what the source, can be potentially irritating if inhaled, so wear a dust mask when working with them.

*Prairie Fibers ($1.25 and up; www.prairiefibers.com, 515-232-0912)

*The Woolery (dyes from $2.00 and dye kits from $29.95; www.woolery.com, 800-441-9665)

*Earth Hues Natural Dye Extracts ($12-$40; www.earthues.com, 206-789-1065)

Resources

*Natural Dyes International (www.naturaldyes.org, 505-751-1596)

*Dyes from American Native Plants (Timber Press, 2005, $29.95)

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