Natural Dyes

Chamomile – Anthemis tinctoria is part of the daisy family and grows throughout North America, Europe and throughout the Himalaya region. It is often used in Turkish carpets for a warm, strong yellow and mixed with madder for tangerine colours...

Modern synthetic dyes can colour almost any material in a vast range of hues. So powerful and far reaching is this technology that it comes as a surprise to learn that only 150 years ago absolutely everything was dyed naturally. In this, our third...

Indigo: A World of Blue was shot on location at the Pitchi Reddy indigo farm in southern India. The work also features indigo use in Sindh, Pakistan; the Vientiane District of Loas; the island of Sumba, Indonesia; Yogyakarta, Indonesia, village Dhamadka,...

Sodium hydroxide - also known as caustic soda. Lye is a strong alkali used with vat dyes and indigo. Wear protective clothing when mixing lye and have good ventilation. Always add lye to cold water rather than the other way around. This chemical is...

Alkanet – alkanna tinctoria or dyer’s alkanet is a very attractive purple colourant that is found in the roots of plants belonging to the borage family. These grow uncultivated throughout central Europe and extend as far as central Asia and...

Buckthorn species are native to the Middle East, and Mediterranean. Also known as Persian berries since the warm yellow colour comes from the unripe berries. Use cream of tartar along with mordants. Dyeing: Use extract on mordanted fibre at 2-6% WOF...

Chestnut trees grow in many parts of the world and contain a great source of tannin. They dye a warm brown colour. This dye is also well known for it’s ability to dye silk black with the addition of logwood and an iron mordant. Dyeing: Use extract...

Coreopsis has an abundant variety of plant species that are widespread throughout North and Central America. The dye is located in the flowers, which give a warm yellow - orange colour Dyeing: Use extract on mordanted fibre at 5-10% WOF. A reddish...

This powder is an extract prepared from steeping the wood of the Acacia Catechu tree in hot water until a syrupy liquid immerges. This is dried and then ground into powder It is common to most parts of India, Burma, Indonesia and Peru. India cutch is by...

Dyer’s Broom or Greenweed is a small shrub that originates in the dry woodlands of Europe and has a long history of use for yellows. It contains the same colourant as weld, which is very lightfast. Dyeing: Use extract on mordanted fibre at 7-10%...

Eastern Brazilwood - also known as Sappan wood, is found in the heartwood of trees belonging to the species Caesalpinia Sappan. Two well known sources are Pernambuco from Brazilian coast and Sappanwood found throughout East Asia. This wood is high in...

Golden Rod is a wild flower found in North America and Europe where it continues to be a well known source of yellow. Dyeing: Use extract on mordanted fibre at 7-10% WOF.    All measures in dyeing are based on the weight of material to...