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Hand-Dyeing
Natural Colors
The dyeing operation begins by washing the spinning oil from the yarn, then immersing it for 2 hours in a 200 F mordant bath of Alum and/or Cream of Tartar that will prepare the yarn to accept the natural dye. After mordanting the yarn is quickly rinsed. The mordanted yarn is dyed by heating it for 1½ hours in a 180 F bath which contains one or more of the following extracts.
COCHINEAL is extracted from the female Dactylopus Coccus insect that lives on the Prickly Pear cactus of Peru; it produces pink to fuchsia colors; combined with Madder it gives a commune red.
MADDER is extracted from the root of the Rubia Tintoria bush of Turkey; it produces orange to cherry to fuchsia colors corresponding to the pH changes brought on by adding vinegar or soda.
CUTCH is extracted from the heartwood of the Acacia Catechu tree of Burma; it produces camel to caramel colors, combined with Madder it gives bright apricots.
FUSTIC is extracted from the heartwood of the Chlorphora Tinctoria tree of Brazil; it produces dense yellows; combined with Logwood it gives olive greens.
LOGWOOD is extracted from the heartwood of the Haematoxylon Campechianum tree of Venezuela; it produces purple-grays; combined with other dye extracts, it deepens their colors.
OSAGE is extracted from the heartwood of the Maculura Pomifera tree of Oklahoma; it produces a bright yellow, overdyed with Indigo it gives the teals of the sea.
INDIGO is fermented from the leaves of the Indigofera Suffruticosa plant of India; it produces blue-jean blues; overdyeing Cochineal with Indigo gives periwinkles and plums.
Dyeing with Indigo is a different procedure; it involves reducing the oxygen in the Indigo dye bath then dipping the yarn into the pot for several minutes; as you pull the yarn is from the bath it is green, but when it contacts the oxygen in the air it turns blue before your eyes. Overdyeing a Madder dyed orange yarn with Indigo gives warm gray-browns.After dyeing the yarn is washed, rinsed and dryed.Crocking & Natural DyesWhen you work with some colors of the yarn, you may experience crocking. Certain natural dyes, Madder, Logwood, Indigo and their blends, leave a powdered natural residue on the yarn even after the rinses that follow the dye bath. This residue may come off on your fingers while knitting the yarn. This is called crocking. Don't worry, natural dyes are not toxic and the colors are fast; they will not run. Hand wash your finished garment in a mild, liquid detergent and rinse until the water runs clear; this will set the color.Earthues provides the natural dyes used to color our Naturally Hand-Dyed Yarn. Speak with Michelle or Kathy if you would like to try your hand at natural dyeing; they have everything you need and conduct workshops too.
