Dye Dye Dye!

Recently I used these

 

 

To dye this

 

 

A small piece of felt, some badly spun (and scratchy) wool and merino top.  I included the undyed white wool to show the 'before and after'.  I don't really like the colour but for a first go I can't complain.

I was inspired to try dying with eucalyptus after reading Eco Colour by India Flint.  Who happened to comment on my last post which is pretty cool if you ask me!

One of the attractive things with eucalyptus is that you don't need a mordant when dyeing wool, so it seems a lot more spontaneous.  I once knew a lady who would do a lot of dyeing when camping.  All she had to carry with her was a pot and some wool.  

And to balance things out.  I dyed up about 10m of cotton this weekend using man made dyes.

 

 

I had a hankering after some secondary colours!  Orange, green and purple YAY!

Those colours look wonderful!

Those colours look wonderful!

Hi Claire. Thanks so much for

Hi Claire. Thanks so much for your comment. That lady has certainly opened up a can of worms. I was really interested to read about your dyeing, I have a book on natural dyes called Wild Colour but have never got around to using it. I love those colours!

That is a ton of fabric! How

That is a ton of fabric! How long did it take? Very, very impressive. I spent four hours dyeing with a friend on friday. We made it through three pieces of silk chiffon and merino top (dyed the same color), plus one handpainted length of merino. Phew! I get tired just looking at all that fiber. Well done. Beautiful colors.

I just hopped over here from

I just hopped over here from redredday, Mien's blog and your first entry has caught me. I have never done any dying but recently my interest was peaked and I can't get enough. Just started reading A Weaver's Garden about dyes and fiber plants, and she mentions spending time in Colorado just camping and dying plants. Now I'm plotting on how to get my hands on eucalyptus. The link to India Flint is amazing and I'll be back here to explore more when I'm done there. Thank you for the inspiration.

hey sis that's really cool.

hey sis that's really cool. All the dyes and stuff are cool. Meg and i like the greens and purples! Love Z!pp!