What plants are suitable for coloring
Dye plants contain dyes that bond stably with the fibers and are therefore washable and lightfast. One of the best-known is indigo, which gave jeans their typical blue color until around 1900.
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There are around 150 dye plants worldwide, some of which are still commercially cultivated today. Below is a list of the most common native plants:
| Plant name | Characteristics | Achieved hue |
|---|---|---|
| birch | Pioneer tree with characteristic white bark. The dye is in the leaves. | Bright yellow. With the addition of iron sulphate, further development to olive green. |
| Nettle | Valuable food for insects and healthy wild vegetables. | Bright yellow |
| Oak | Very often used tanning drug. The bark is used. | Brown |
| Safflower | Annual flowering plant with showy spines. The petals are used. | Red-orange, golden yellow, brown-yellow. |
| Dyer's gorse | Butterflies that used to be cultivated specifically as a coloring plant. | yellow |
| Woad | It used to be grown on a large scale. Alternative to indigo. The addition of washing soda is necessary for a permanent color result. | Turquoise, blue |
| madder | Is cultivated specifically as a dye plant. The shredded roots are used for coloring. | Brick red, rust red, rust brown |
| delphinium | Popular flowering plant in the cottage garden. The flowers are used. | Lime green, green yellow |
| Hollyhock, black | Herbaceous mallow family. Grows to a height of one to two meters and is a valued ornamental plant. The flowers are used. | Silver gray, green gray |
| walnut | No stain is required. The soft shells that sit over the nut are used. | Dark brown, copper brown, beige brown |
| onion | Important vegetable and aromatic plant. The shells are used for dyeing. | Copper, yellow |
The coloring with woad is particularly interesting, as the inlaid fabrics initially turn yellow-brown. You can only “experience your blue miracle” through contact with oxygen. The fabrics change their tone through the interplay of air and light to medium blue.
method
- In order for the vegetable colors to adhere permanently to the fabrics, they must be stained with alum and / or tartar.
- Tie the plants in a dye cloth and cook them out.
- Then insert the material to be dyed and boil it in the dye liquor for one to two hours.
- Important with wool: Do not stir so that the material does not felt.
- Get the material out of the brew and hang it in the air to dry.
- In the last step, the colors are fixed with acid (vinegar essence).
Tips
You can collect dye plants in the wild or cultivate them specifically in the garden. Most of these plants are undemanding and thrive on almost any soil. Exotic dye plants such as redwood, cochineal or indigo are available from specialist shops.
