making - understanding natural dyes, a series - right or wrong?
natural dyes are true everyday magic around these parts. they are also deeply rooted in the science of chemistry, which is another kind of magic. what does this mean? well, it means that there are more “right” and “wrong” ways of working with natural dyes, at least at the commercial level. what qualifies as “right” vs. “wrong”?
right
extracted the dye for a sufficient amount of time using the correct method
adhered it to the item being dyed using the correct method dependent on the dye source as well as the type of molecular chains making up the item itself
rinsed it properly (which may still result in crocking, depending on the dye and the saturation levels)
used actual natural dye sources to begin with, whether those fall on the more fugitive side of the spectrum or the very colourfast (both washfast and lightfast)
wrong
used something to “dye” with just because it stains your fingers or the countertop
not understood whether a dye needs to be fixed with other things to become colourfast, resulting in a stain result rather than a dye result
forgot to scour and mordant (90% of the time...there are exceptions but do you actually know what the exceptions are?)
didn’t 100% identify the dye you (think) is now in your dye pot
assumed that just because it’s natural, you don’t have to take any safety precautions
didn’t consider what the end use of your dyeing adventures will be for and so your dye choice actually isn’t as appropriate as another one might have been
been impatient to try a certain dye source because it was “out of stock/season” with the ethical supplier/local providers, so you went ahead and found someone else who could get it for you, no questions asked
does some of this sound harsh? perhaps. do you not know what half of the statements are even saying? that’s ok. it was written with some jargon on purpose.
over the series of the next several blog posts, i’ll be creating a guide of sorts for you so that you can boost your overall knowledge about natural dyes - what they actually are, how they work, and how you can care for your naturally dyed items so that they last longer (while you adjust your expectations for them too). this is 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 practice or 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’ve seen some friends online “dyeing” with berries and beets and coffee lately and you were thinking of trying it out yourself, it’ll help you to a) not waste your time and b) figure out what you can actually use for easy dyeing adventures (onion skins! marigolds from your garden!). and if you’re already a seasoned natural dyer, maybe you’ll find some quick faq’s to pull out to educate your customers about how they can help make their purchases from you last.
ready? ok, we’ll see you next week! if you want the full downloadable guide right now, you can find it with willow’s treats in the creative coven community.