Today I was researching into natural dyes for fabrics and yarns as most commercial dying practices involve toxic chemicals, which leak into our water systems (especially heavy metals), and massive wastage of water and energy. So I set out to research how I could make my own dyes by extracting pigments from various plants such as fruits and veg; as well as using online resources, I found quite a few books in the library on this topic so this broadened my source of information (and as I mentioned previously, I have booked myself into a sustainable textiles fair at the Somerset house in April which will also give me more of an insight into natural dyeing from a practitioner’s point of view).
I wanted to start off by making some shades of green as this is the most prominent colour in my project so I tried to extract the colour from 1. artichoke and 2. spinach by chopping them up, boiling them for about an hour, draining the pigmented water and then boiling the fabric (pre-soaked in a solution of water and vinegar). I have to say neither of the vegetable extracts look particularly green to me, the artichoke one looked brown and the spinach one was a more yellow-green… I’m not sure if I did something wrong, maybe I boiled the vegetables for too long. Anyway, for now I have left the fabrics to soak all night so I will update my blog with the results tomorrow…
an.andycaptures 