Natural Dyeing: Making Your Own Indigo!

The results of Eva's indigo dyeing.

Freshly-picked leaves, ready to cook down.

Eva, an English blogger, records her adventures with natural dyeing.  Look at her amazing work with growing and harvesting indigo for dyeing.

Here's a link to a book about dyeing with indigo.

Natural Dyeing

Here's an article and interview with Margaret Ooman on Dyeing fabric naturally. I'm not sure if it will be useful or interesting to readers of this blog, but I thought I'd post it anyhow!

Ooman is a rural physician with a background in chemistry, and she's a textile artist.

In this interview, she mentions light sensitivity of natural fabrics and gathering local plants to make dyes.

Results of Oosman's experiment using wild fennel.

Oosman has an amazing blog: Naturally Dyeing.  Here she records her experiments and techniques in natural dyeing.  The images here show the results of using wild fennel to dye her textiles.  Beautiful!

Leaf Rug

Can you see the caterpillar?

This year our members decided that along with our usual cash donation, we could make a rug to donate to the Sherbrooke Center, the facility which provides meeting space for our group. The rug was designed, hooked and bound by members of our club. It was auctioned at the Center's fund raising gala in May. The name of the rug, "With a Little Help From My Friends", describes our group, as we come together in friendship to share and learn, but it also describes the Sherbrooke Center residents and staff. Together we are stronger and happier.