making - understanding natural dyes, a series - the basics, part 2
last week, we went over the basics of natural dye application and chemistry, as well as checking out a glossary of key terms to understand as we delve deeper into the magic of natural dyes. this week, we’re going to talk about some of the more common exceptions to our general rules, as well as how working with homegrown/foraged dyes require a bit more comfort with play and flexibility. the historical and societal contexts surrounding natural dyes is a whole other kettle of fish that is very useful (i would argue necessary) to delve into for additional context. if you would like to go deeper into the roles that colonialism and capitalism have played/continue to play in natural dyes and our valuing of colour, check out this reading list as well as this list.
as a general rule, most dyes require the application of a mordant to adhere properly to both protein and cellulose fibres, and cellulose fibres need the extra addition of tannins. there are some significant exceptions to this rule - for example, vat dyes like indigo and woad are a completely different chemical process involving deoxidation and reoxidation that fall outside of these discussions - but for the most part, when we are working with natural dyes, we want to be sure that we (or whoever is doing the dyeing for us) are following all of those steps. but what if they’re not? is there ever a time when it’s appropriate to eschew some or all of these rules?
some common scenarios
you’ve likely seen a number of commercial dyers sharing their process online and showing off pink avocado results on cellulose fibres with soy milk as a “mordant.” while not technically accurate, the high levels of tannins found in avocado pits and skins combined with soy milk as a binder (not a mordant) creates a fairly stable result that is generally accepted commercially. the application of alum as a mordant often pulls out the tans and peaches of avocado tannins, so skipping it is more likely to give you those desirable rosy pinks, whereas soy milk helps to bring out those same pinks and make them fairly colourfast. if mordants are a puzzle piece that click our chemical reactions into place, binders are more like the glue you stick on top of the puzzle to keep them in place. not technically part of the equation, but they help things to stick a little better when used properly.
as a general rule, we always want to scour our fibres. you can purchase “ready to dye” yarn blanks from some companies, but they’ve typically been prepared for acid dyes, not natural dyes. the exception to this rule is if we’re overdyeing something that hasn’t been used and had semi-recently been scoured already anyway; i.e. you dyed a pillowcase and weren’t happy with the first colour, so now you’re dyeing it again without having slept on it in between.
someone on your newsfeed is excited about their new natural dyeing adventures and are showing off their beet “dyes.” beets are - say it with me now - not a dye. the chemicals found in beets and beet greens result in a lovely colour in the pot and that’s about it. they can stain fibres, but a stain is not a dye. to be considered a true dye, the results must be colourfast - that is, they are fairly stable after their initial rinse and do not change for several washes (washfast) and/or prolonged uv ray exposure (lightfast). fugitive dyes provide results that are less colourfast than what is considered desirable/required by commercial industry standards, but they still take a while to fade out (examples of fugitive dyes include red cabbage and hibiscus flowers, neither of which are considered commercially acceptable by serious dyers, but which create some really lovely colours that are worth playing with for your own satisfaction). other things to keep an eye out for: dyers listing “wildflowers” as a source (what type of wildflowers? what parts of the plant were used?), most berries, and coffee/tea (these are both generally good sources of tannins but are not particularly washfast). as a general rule, if you are playing with a dye source that is not sold in raw or extract form by reputable natural dye producers, do not include it in your commercial inventory until you have done extensive personal practice with it and know how to communicate its unique characteristics to your customers (or be ready to ask these questions from the person who has dyed your purchase).
you gather a bunch of dandelion heads from your yard and try to dye a couple skeins of yarn but there’s not really any colour change after an hour or so in the pot. there are a few factors to keep in mind here:
homegrown and locally foraged dye sources haven’t gone through the testing that is done with commercially available natural dyes in their raw and extract forms. you won’t know exactly what ratio you need and will need to be a little more attuned to the pots as they sit on the heat.
additional time for both extraction and dyeing is frequently required for locally sourced raw dye materials.
if you’re working with a new-to-you dye plant (aka you haven’t experimented with it very much/at all in your dye pots), try it out with mini skeins of yarn or scraps of fabric. you’ll need significantly less dye material to get a good result and if it’s a bust, you haven’t overharvested nor wasted a project’s worth of fibre!
playing with local colour is a very fun way of introducing everything from chemistry to basic colour theory to kids, and if you’re not too worried about how colourfast the end results will be, it can mean an even broader range of play!
tl;dr
there are plenty of legitimate exceptions to the regular rules when working with natural dyes. if you’re playing around with them for yourself/for fun, you can play much looser with these rules. if you’re trying to make a profit by selling either items or teaching others (either formally or for “exposure” cred), you need to know your shit and if you’re breaking the rules understand why and how your deviance from the regular rules impacts your results and then communicate that to your audience so you’re setting up reasonable expectations and not muddying the industry.
this post is part of a larger series on the basics and care for natural dyes. they’re not designed to teach you how to work with natural dyes, but rather the why behind them. if you’re dipping your toe into the waters (maybe with natural dyeing as practiceor natural dyeing 101 or the crush scholarship), it’ll give you a helpful basis from which you can start figuring out what other resources are legit and which are full of shit. if you want the full downloadable guide right now, you can find it with willow’s treats in the creative coven community.