Juice Dyes
Nearly every plant will yield some sort of color, whether we use the leaves, the
bark, the wood, the roots, or the fruit. Nearly all require, or are enhanced
by, some sort of mordant. The trick then is to determine which plants, or which part of which plants,
give not only beautiful tones, but colorfast shades as well. To the right are a
few token examples of dyes tried and true.
Many dyers have been frustrated after hours of work producing a beautiful shade
of color on a piece of yardage only to find that in washing or with limited
exposure to sunlight the color fades and all but disappears. This is where the
tried and true sources of the past come to our aid. People have been
experimenting with producing colors since ancient times. Rely upon this body of
information for your initial palette. However, do keep in mind, there is always
room for experimentation.
There are a great many excellent sources both in your local library and on line
for traditional information on natural dyes, so I am not going to repeat it
here. These references will be especially useful in researching which plants
yield which colors, and which mordants to use to achieve the broadest range of
variations.
Most of the recipes will come from traditions in dyeing yarns. The plants used
and the manner in which the dye is extracted is the same–whether dyes for yarns or painting yardage. However, once the color is extracted
the similarity ends. Follow the general outline below for dyes to be used in
katazome.
Bulk dye plants may be grown or purchased. The commercially available types are
normally sold dry. For most of our purposes, large quantities of dye will not
be required as in yarn dyeing. The goal is to make only slightly more than you
think will be necessary when two to three coats are applied to the yardage.
Making dye is not very different from making coffee or tea–first grind or chop the material into fine pieces or powder using a kitchen
knife, a mortar and pestle, a blender, or a coffee grinder.
It is often a good idea to soak the dry vegetable matter for a bit before
proceeding. Woodier types of dye sources will need to be soaked a longer,
sometimes for a whole day or more. A good rule of thumb is to put the dye stuff
on to soak the night before you plan to cook it.
Place the vegetable matter and the soak water (the water it has been soaking in)
in a glass bowl for the microwave, or a stainless steel bowl for over the
stove. Slowly bring to a simmer and steep for as long as it takes to extract
the color. Some sources begin to release color the minute they hit the water
while others require more patience.
Pour the stew mixture through a moistened cloth into a mixing bowl. With some
dye sources you may add more water to the steeped vegetable matter and get a
second, third, and even fourth batch of dye by simmering a bit longer. The
color is slightly different each time, usually becoming less concentrated, so
you may want to keep each batch separate, or mix them into one big pot.
Allow the dye to come to room temperature before proceeding.
Never boil the dye stuff, this kills the color. I generally cook my dyes at a
fairly low temperature to reduce the liquid to give me a concentrated extract.
Unless you collect dye sources the way a birder collects a list of sitings, you
won’t need many sources. Find a small pallette of reliable colors and stick with
them. All of the colors used as described in these pages will mix well. You may
also purchase commercially available extracts. Visit my blog for a list of resources.
copyright-- John Marshall, 1992
