Herbal dyes
Designation
Herbal dyes
Features
Natural dyes have many advantages: they are environmentally friendly, non-toxic and biodegradable. Most natural dyes are resistant to light and fading.
Materials & Equipment needed
Ingredients : Colouring agents at the base of the plants (bark, leaves, flowers, roots…), water, metallic salts (mordanting)
Tools: Scales, graduated glass, copper basin, enamel pot, weighing scales, mortar and pestle, fine strainers, stainless steel ladle, wooden spoons and thermometer.
Materials: fabric, wool, silk, sisal, cotton, linen and others
Application
The stages :
Preparation of raw or unbleached fibres
Mordanting the fibres (some recipes are made without mordanting)
Maceration of the plants in water, preferably the day before dyeing
Decoction of the macerated plants for certain recipes
Preparation of the dye bath
Dyeing the fibres
Tinting the colour.
Recipe:
There are as many recipes as there are different colours and mixtures of plants, leaves, bark and roots. Preparation and dyeing often take several days. Here is a recipe for madder dye from Karin Delaunay-Delfs (Teintures naturelles, Karin Delaunay-Delfs, Eyrolles):
Mordant 700 g of madder (a few days in advance): Fill a 40-litre stewpot with 30 litres of water and heat to around 30°C. Dissolve the alum (250g) and cream of tartar (60g) in a little warm water and add to the water. Stir with a stick. Dip the damp fibres into the etching bath. Heat gently until just boiling and leave for an hour at the same temperature. Stir regularly. Allow the bath to cool before removing the fibres. Squeeze out the water without rinsing. Wrap them in a damp cloth and leave them to stand in a cool basin.
To macerate the madder: gradually dilute the madder in water (3 litres). Leave to macerate overnight. The madder will swell considerably.
Prepare the dye bath: heat 30 litres of water to around 30°C in a large stainless steel pot. Add the macerated madder. Mix well.
Dyeing: Rinse the mordanted fibres and wring them out. Plunge them into the dye bath. Continue to heat gently to a maximum of 70/80°C. Keep at this temperature for an hour, stirring regularly. Allow the bath to cool before removing the fibres. Rinse thoroughly. The final rinse water should be clear. Leave to dry out of direct sunlight.
Note: The dye bath is still full of dyes. It can be used to dye other fabrics.
Recommended Book
Couleurs végétales. Teintures, pigments et encres, Michel Garcia, Edisud
De la Garance au Pastel, l’herbier des plantes tinctoriales, M. Garcia, M.-F. Delarozière, Edisud
Plantes colorantes. Teintures végétales, Michel Garcia, Anne-France Bernard, Edisud