Transcripts
1. Welcome!: Whether you live in a
concrete covered city, the rural countryside,
or somewhere in-between, you can become a natural dire. All you need is curiosity
and the willingness to explore your neighborhood
with a new perspective. Hi, my name is Amy Plante
and I'll be showing you the magical art of foraging and brewing natural fabric dyes. I'm a multi
passionate, creative, and I've been working
with plant-based dyes for about ten years now. In my first plant magic course, I shared a bit
about how I came to the art of natural
dying after learning about the harmful impact of fashion and textile industries
have on the planet, what started as a
personal challenge to practice more sustainably, quickly developed
into a fun passion. I've come to fall in
love with this process. From the collecting
of natural materials to this low extraction of dye, to this sometimes
surprising final result. I'm excited to share it all
with you in this course. Natural dyes give fabric
a tactile softness and unique depth of color that you just can't achieve
with synthetic dyes. Another reason I love this craft is that
nothing is wasted. The diameter is compostable and the water reuse can be
returned to the Earth, creating a sustainable
closed loop system. This is a beginner
friendly class. We'll cover
sustainable foraging, growing a dye garden, and how to dye the
natural way step-by-step. By the end of the course, you'll have all the
foundational knowledge you need to collect
and dye with plants. If you're ready to tap
the colorful potential of plants and make some
magic, come dye with me.
2. Class Project: Class project. In this class, I'll show you how to brew
natural dye from scratch using plants that you forge for in
the wild or in your garden. And then how to use
that dye on silk. The reason I'm using silk for this project is because it
really takes to natural dye. Well, It's easy to achieve
excellent results with it. I'll be using recycled,
Sorry, silk ribbon, which is a more sustainable
and affordable option to most silk fabric. I love this ribbon because
it can be used for knitting, weaving, art journaling,
or even gift wrapping. If you don't want to use silk, these instructions
will also apply to using wool as both
silk and wool. Our protein fibers, dying
with cotton or linen, which are cellulose fibers, is a slightly different process. So I recommend sticking to
silk or wolf or your project. If you'd like to
adapt this project to dying with cotton or linen, I recommend starting with my
first plant magic course, natural dying in the kitchen. If you want to dye wool
yarn for this project, It's a good idea to
prepare the yarn by unraveling it
into large loops, tying the ends together, and separating the strands
into sections by twisting a small piece of yarn into figure eights around
each section. This will prevent the
yarn from getting tangled during the dye process. To begin this project, I'll show you what tools
and equipment you'll need, as well as how to prepare
your fabric for dying using the all-important scouring
and more denting processes. Then I'll share with
you the best practices for foraging sustainably, along with my tips for
growing your own dye garden. Next, we'll brew a batch
of natural dye with the material we've
collected and dire fabric. Finally, I'll share with you
some tips for drawing in storing dye materials so you
can use them year round. Participating in this project, we'll get you reacquainted with your neighborhood in the
environment that surrounds you, you'll begin to see plants with fresh eyes and more curiosity. I encourage you to take me and your fellow students
on that journey with you by sharing photos of your process in the
project gallery. In this way, we can all
learn from each other. In the next lesson, I'll
show you how to prepare your toolbox and your fabric
for the natural dye process.
3. Prepping for Dyeing: Prepping for dying. Before we begin brewing our fabric dye will need to make sure we have
the right equipment, as well as ensuring our
fabric is prepped for dying. One of the most important rules to follow is that the tools and equipment used for dying
should only be used for dying. Don't use tools. You also cook with Morton's and even some of the plants you'll
use in this process, though gentle on the planet, are not safe for consumption. So it's important
to have dedicated equipment for this craft. This is a great opportunity
to retire old pots or wooden spoons and give them a second life and your
fabric dyeing adventures. You can also find a lot of these items in thrift
stores secondhand. So there's no need
to spend a lot of money to get started
with natural dying. At a minimum, you'll need a large stainless steel
or ceramic coated pot of large spoon or pair of tongs. A massive or strainer, one or two large buckets, a selection of glass jars, and a pair of kitchen gloves. If you're working inside, you'll also want a
high-quality mask for when you're handling
powdered Morton's. I would also recommend a
set of measuring spoons or digital scale for getting more precise amounts
with your dyes. And Morton's, though,
you may prefer to eyeball everything in experiment
through trial and error, which I also think is a valid
and useful way to learn. You can find all my
recommended tools and the downloadable guide that
accompanies this class. When you've assembled
all your tools, you'll need to start by
prepping your fabric for dying. The process I'm going to
share with you is tailored to dying with protein fibers
like silk and wool. The main difference
between working with protein fibers versus cellulose fibers is that protein fibers needed
gentler approach. Cotton and linen can sign
up to vigorous boiling, but we'll can become matted
and silicon break down. So bear that in mind
when you work with them. The first step with propping
herself is to scour it. That sounds like an
aggressive term, but essentially we're just
giving the fabric good wash, fill a pot or bucket
with warm water and add a tablespoon of
eco-friendly detergent. Mixing the silk and leave it to steep about 8 h or overnight. Thoroughly rinse the
fabric in warm water until the water runs
clear and hanging to dry. Scouring removed sizing and any coding that might
repel your dye. So it's normal for
your scouring bath to be yellow or brown. You're now ready to
mourn at your fabric. More testing is an essential
step in the dying process. Without a Morton, your
dye may not stick to the fibers and it will be less vibrant and much less permanent. There are certain natural dyes, such as those from bark
that are rich in tannins. Tannin in itself
acts as a mordant. Dyes with lots of tannin don't necessarily need
additional Morton's. However, you will find that even when working with a
tan and rich dye, using an additional
Morton will make your colors richer and
much more permanent. I strongly encourage
you not to skip this step if you want great
results with your dye. We're going to Morton are silk with something called alum. When you go to buy alum, you may come across
two different kinds, aluminum sulfate and
potassium aluminum sulfate. Some diaries claim potassium aluminum sulfate
yields better results, but both work well and protein fibers and it's up
to you which one you use. I have a good quality iron
free aluminum sulfate on hand. So it's what I'll be demonstrating
with for this lesson. In the downloadable guide, I provided links to
reputable suppliers of Morton's to help you out. So let's get to it. If you're more detail, right after you've scoured
your fabric, it will already be
wet and ready to go. If your fabric is since dried, you'll need to soak
it in water for about an hour to get it really wet for the
more editing stage. To begin, fill your dye pot
with water in a glass jar, measure out your alum. The weight of the
alchemy used should be about 10% of the
weight of your fabric. For a pound of fabric, this works out to about
three tablespoons. It can be difficult to know
the weight of your fabric, but when you go to buy
it either printed on the end of the bolt or written
in the online listing. It should say the
weight per square yard. So you can use that
as an estimate. It's okay if your measurement
isn't perfectly precise, just keep in mind
that a little goes a long way with alum and
you won't need much. Boil a cup or so of water
and add it to the jar. Stir the alum until it is dissolved and then store
it into a pot of water. Add your web fabric and turn on the stove to slowly bring
everything to a simmer. Simmer for an hour, stirring occasionally, and then leave to cool in
the pot overnight. The next day, rinse out your
fabric and hanged too dry, or proceed to the dying step. You can pour your morning
bath on acid loving plants in your garden or neutralize it with soda ash first
to balance the pH. When it comes to printing
and dyeing fabric, everyone will tell you that the fabric needs enough room to flow freely in the pot
for the best results. Admittedly, I am terrible
at following this rule. I would much rather use
less water and cram and more fabric so I can dye as
much as possible in one go. This results in fabric
that is more modeled and textured effects that I
personally find very beautiful. If you're looking for pristine, solid color results, however, you're more likely to get
them if you have lots of room for your fabric
to flow in your pot. Once you've finished
the mourning process, you're ready to dye the fabric. You can scour and more than
lots of fabric and advance. So you always have
some on hand when you get the urge
to Bruce him dye. Now we're ready to forage
for dye materials. But first let's recap
how to prep our fabric. The tools and equipment used for dying should only
be used for dying. Don't use things. You also cook with protein
fibers like wool and silk need to be treated
more gently than cellulose fibers like
cotton and linen. Scour your silk to remove
any sizing or impurities. Morning the fabric
using a solution of alum and gently
heat on the stove. Next, they'll give
you my best tips for sustainable dye plant foraging.
4. Sustainable Foraging: Sustainable foraging. Let's go over how to find
plans for fabric dyeing. There are two ways to collect your own dye
materials by growing a dye garden or by foraging
for wild growing plants. In both situations, you
should be mindful of the environment and
the other plants and animals you share it with. An important rule to follow is to only take what you need. You likely will know
how much fabric you're dying before you
begin this process. And we'll have a rough estimate of how much dye stuff you need. Another important
rule to follow is to leave enough for the
insects and animals. If you're collecting berries, leave plenty on the branches for the birds and animals
that need them for food. If you're collecting flowers, leave enough to keep the bees and other pollinators happy. For materials such
as Barker branches, try to only collect things
that have dropped on the ground to avoid
damaging the tree. Don't strip a plant
completely of its leaves, but rather pick a few from several different plants so as not to do permanent damage. Also be sure to never forage on conservation land or
other protected areas. It's important
that we be mindful of where and when
we gather plants. By being respectful
of the ecosystem, we can ensure that there'll be plenty to forage
year after year. Even if you live in a city,
you may be surprised, but what you can find once you start looking for dye plants, the flower I'll be demonstrating the dye process
with golden rod is considered a weed
and grows everywhere from vacant lots to
the sides of highways. It produces a stunning
yellow hue and dye form. Even though it's a weed, I always make sure to
leave some blossoms for pollinating insects because they really seem to love it. If you have a backyard or small balcony that you can
keep container plants on, you may choose to
plant a dye garden. What you're able to grow will depend on your regional climate. Research the native plants near you and experiment
with cultivating them. Some plants that
are excellent for dyeing might be invasive
where you live. So just be mindful of
that when you plant. I have some space on my deck to grow plants in containers. This year decided to grow
Korean and Japanese indigo, which do well here in the
Northeastern US where I live. I've included a broad
list of dye plants and the downloadable guide that
accompanies this class. But to get some inspiration on which plants do well
where you live, I highly recommend the
book, natural palettes, inspiration from plant-based
color by Sasha Durer. It reads as a kind of
color encyclopedia for natural dyes and covers plans from several different
kinds of environments, including tropical, desert,
coastal, and temperate. It's a great place to start
to spark your research. I also recommend
having a plant guides specific to your
location so you can easily identify
plants you find and learn about poisonous plants so you can stay away from them. Before we move on
to the dye process, Let's quickly go over
the best practices for sustainable foraging. When foraging in the wild, only take what you need. Always leave enough for
insects and animals to eat. Try growing your own di plants in containers or your garden. Research the plants native to your region for
the best results. Now let's move on to
brewing natural dyes.
5. Brewing Natural Dyes: Brewing natural dyes. Let's spur a batch
of natural dye. I'm going to show
you this process with golden rod flowers, but the steps are
more or less the same for any fresh plant material. First, I'll gather the flowers. Since I'm only dying a
small amount of fabric, I won't need much. You'll want to make sure your
flowers are free of bugs, either by rinsing them
outside or by dunking them in water and then pouring it out to release any clean insects. Now you can put your flowers in your dye pot and add water. The amount of diode brew
depends on how much fabric you're dying and how strong
you want your dye to be. In general, the weight
of your dye material and fabric should be equal
a one-to-one ratio. When I'm working
with fresh material, I just do it by eye. Natural dying requires
a certain degree of experimentation and
making mistakes. I could give you the exact
measurements for something. And depending on 100
different variables, your dye would still
likely come out different than mine.
So don't sweat it. The more you practice,
the more you'll learn. When I'm dying with
fresh flowers, I like to start with
them in a cold pot. Turn on your stove and gently bring your bat to
a delicate summer. When you're working
with hardier dye, stuff like nuts and roots, you can be a little more
aggressive with your heat. However, when working
with fresh flowers, it pays to be patient and
delicate with your heat. I like to bring the
flowers solely of temperature with the water
to coax the color out, rather than waiting
until the water is hot before adding
the dye materials, as I do with dried plants. If you're working with
something other than flowers which can be added
to your pot as is, you may need to break down the material to extract
the color better. Roots and leaves should be torn and Barry should be crushed. Nuts embark can be used hole in, simmered more aggressively
to extract the color. Once your flowers have been
simmering for about 45 min, you'll want to start
checking on your dye color by dipping a swatch of
fabric into the vat. In general, it takes
about an hour of simmering to fully
extract the dye, but this can vary, so it's good to just keep an eye on it. When you're happy with the
color, turn off the heat. If you want to push the
color even further, you can experiment with leaving the flowers in the pot
to cool overnight. However, for this fat, I'm happy with the
color. I've got. Remove the flowers and strain the dye using a cheese
cloth for the purest fat. If you're at all hesitant be safe and wait until the
dye bath is cooled. Before doing this step, you can start soaking
your fabric in preparation for dying
while you wait. The extra cautious if
you choose to handle hot liquid, it can get messy. So work outside if you can put your strain dye back into the pot and bring
it up to a simmer. Add your wet premorbid and
fabric to the dye bath and gently simmer for an hour or until you're happy
with the color. Turn off the heat
and optionally leave your fabric to soak
overnight or up to two days. This will deepen and
mature the color. Remember that when wet, the fabric will
look several shades darker than it will dry. So keep that in mind
when gauging the color. The last step is to
thoroughly rinse the fabric of excess
dye and hang it to dry. Remember not to waste your dye bath by pouring
it down the sink. One of the many
wonderful things about dying with natural
materials is that you can reuse the
water to hydrate your plants both
indoors and outside. If your dye bath is still rich in color after
you've used it, you may want to
store in jars and reuse it for another
dye project. The spent time
material from earlier, it can be composted. Nothing in this art
form goes to waste. Remember to document
your process from looking for DEI plans to dye your fabric and upload your photos to
the project gallery. I can't wait to see
what you've created. So let's recap the
natural dying process. Make sure your dye
materials are free from bugs and dirt before
adding to your dye bath, use a one-to-one
ratio of fabric to dice tough to know
how much dye to brew. Slowly bring your
flowers up to a simmer, then keep the heat steady for
an hour to extract the dye, strain out the dye material and return the dye to the pot, bring the dye
backup to a simmer, add your wet pre-mortem did fabric and simmer for an hour. Leave your fabric
to cool in the pot until it reaches
the desired shade. Thoroughly rinse the
fabric and hanging to dry. Remember to recycle
your dye by watering your plants or storing it
in a jar for later use. Next, I'll show
you how to dry in store plants so you can
dye with them year round.
6. Drying + Storing Dyes: Drying and storing dyes. If you want to be able
to work with plant dyes regardless of the season, drawing will be your friend. Nearly every flower, leaf, root or not that is suitable for dying is also
suitable for drying. The key to properly storing dye materials is to
make sure they're absolutely free from moisture before you put them in
a jar or container. For flowers with delicate
petals like Cory, ah, psis, the pinch them off
at the head is they bloom and lay
them on a drying rack. I made my own out of tool
netting and embroidery hoop. But you could also use
an old window screen or pre-made drying rack
designed for this purpose. Just make sure the
flowers are getting 360 degrees of airflow and
keep them away from moisture. For flowers that are
hardier like amaranth, I'll cut them at the stock
and bundle them into small bouquets that can be
hung upside down to dry. Use elastic bands to tire bundles as the
stems will shrink as they dry and the
elastic shrinks with them, keeping
them together. For materials such as gall
nuts and avocado pits, I'll lay them out on a tray, ideally under a hot sun to dry. Avocado pits, especially
retain moisture. So I'll wait as
long as possible, usually weeks or months at a time before putting
them in a jar to store. This will prevent them
from getting moldy. When your materials
are completely dry. Glass jars make ideal storage. Store them in a cool dark place. For dried flower bundles. You can also store them in
paper bags if you prefer. Dying with dried
flowers should give you the same or similar results to drawing with fresh flowers. But I encourage you
to try both and compare your results to see
if there's a difference. Natural dying can
be unpredictable and lead to some fun surprises. I encourage you to be open
to the fluid nature of this art form and embrace the unexpected when
you practice it. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate
to reach out in the class discussion board so everyone can benefit
and learn together.
7. Congratulations!: Congratulations on
completing this class. Now that you've learned the
process of natural dying, you'll be able to explore
and experiment with all sorts of plants
and organic materials. Over the course of this class we covered which tools and equipment you need
to get started. How to scour in Morton at your fabric to
prepare it for dying. The best practices for foraging sustainably and growing
your own dye garden. How to brew batch
of natural dye with the material you've collected
and dye fabric with it, and how to dry in store dye materials so you can
use them year-round. Now that you've
started to look around your local environment
from a new perspective. I hope you continue
to stay curious about the plants E Find, keep a diary, journal of fabric swatches, illustrations and
photos to create your very own encyclopedia of your foraging and
dying adventures. If you share your
experience on social media, be sure to tag me on Instagram
and TikTok at art dot, which underscore so I can
cheer you on your journey. As always, keep in
touch and happy dying.
