Get Started Natural Dyeing

Here you will find dyeing articles to help you learn the art of natural dyeing and other coloration techniques.

Introduction to Natural Dyeing

Natural dyeing is the art of taking organic materials, extracting color from those materials, and applying the color to fiber, yarn, or cloth. The color adheres to the fibers of the material and transforms it into a beautiful piece of art.

Natural dyes are somewhat unpredictable; each one acts in unique ways. Some natural pigments are lightfast; they maintain their color even after prolonged exposure to sunlight. Some natural dyes are fugitive, meaning they will slowly fade over time.

The joy of dyeing naturally comes in the experimentation, the unknowns, the crafting of a color. It is an art form that takes patience, diligence, a free spirit, and a sense of creativity and flexibility. Plants are full of life and interest. Not only does a plant grow from a tiny little seed, but it also helps to clean our air, develop fruits, veggies, or other eatables. It also opens a world of possibilities for color for the natural dyer. There are many techniques you can use to naturally dye fibers.

Natural dyes can be extracted from many different plants. Each plant produces a slightly different color, and because they are growing things, it can depend on the time of year and the plant’s health as well. Flowers, leaves, roots, seeds, bark, wood, stalks, nuts, and other aspects of trees, flowers, and shrubs have the potential to produce color.

A few ways to natural dye:

Extract color from plants using heat and then apply that color to fibers.

Allow the sun to work as your source of heat to extract and dye simultaneously.

Use cool dye baths, allowing the fiber to sit in cool water for long periods.

Bundling gathers organic materials into a fabric bunch to enable the plant colors to seep into the fabric.

Natural Dyeing Videos:

Natural Dyeing Easter Eggs

Books on Natural Dyeing

Natural dye suppliers

Maiwa – Natural dye powders, dyeing equipment, and supplies.

Botanical Colors – Natural dye concentrates natural dye plant seeds.

Paradise Fibers – Natural dyes, fiber, yarn, and more for fiber arts projects.

George Weil – Natural dyes and natural dye plant seeds. Based in the UK.

Aurora Silk – Silk fiber and silk fiber dyes.

Wild Colours – natural dye plant seeds, natural dye concentrates/powders.