Dyeing With Cosmos Flowers: A Simple Guide to Summer Color This year, I filled a sunny stretch of my dye garden with cosmos flowers, and they rewarded me with the happiest colors I’ve seen in a long time. Cosmos sulphureus, sometimes called orange cosmos or sulfur cosmos, produces some of the most joyful natural dyes…
Making Homemade Watercolor Pigments with Natural Dyes I have included some Amazon Affiliate links below. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This year, I started experimenting with making my own watercolors using plants and natural dyes from my homestead. I’ve been dyeing yarn and fabric for a long time, and I always…
Natural Dyeing with Osage Orange Wood: A Bright Yellow from the Hedge Apple Tree If you’re looking to explore natural dyes that yield vibrant, lightfast colors, Osage orange (Maclura pomifera) is one of the best ways to get a true, rich yellow. This bright yellow wood has been used for centuries by fiber artists and…
My Obsession with Natural Dye Books I have a bit of an obsession with natural dye books. Whenever I see a new one, I can’t resist adding it to my collection. There’s something about flipping through the pages, seeing the photography of the dyes and plants, and discovering new uses for traditional dye plants that…
Making a Vat with Homegrown Indigo Dye This week, I made an organic indigo vat with indigo powder I’d grown myself. I’ve been dyeing with indigo for nearly ten years. No matter which method you use, the process is utterly enchanting. Spellbinding. It really feels like magic. For many years I have made my vats…
Natural dyeing with acorns and walnuts produces lovely tans, browns, grays, and blacks. Join me as I take you through the process. My property is filled with oak trees, so acorns are not hard for me to find. They are one of the first natural dyes I learned to extract. Walnuts produce a very similar…
This week I enjoyed dyeing with weld! Weld, also known as Dyer’s Rocket, is an ancient dye used for millennia to dye fibers and cloth to vibrant yellow shades. It is known to have been used as early as Roman times, and was used extensively throughout Europe during the Middle Ages. Since yellow is a…
I Grew Coreopsis Flowers and Turned Them into Beautiful Natural Dyes This summer I grew an abundance of Coreopsis flowers in my garden! Coreopsis flowers produce a perfect rusty pumpkin orange color on natural fibers. Dyeing with Coreopsis is easy, and I’ll walk you through each step. Growing Coreopsis Flowers Choosing the Right Variety There…
The Magic of Indigo Have you ever wondered if your garden could double as your art studio? Are you endlessly inspired by the beautiful shapes, details, and colors found in nature? Let me show you the magic of using fresh indigo leaves for dye and printing. This is my second summer growing indigo (Persicaria tinctoria)…
A few days ago I asked my customers and followers for questions that I could answer for today’s video. Hope you enjoy this informal chat about life as a Louisiana Fiber Farmer: natural dye, fiber art, angora rabbits, homesteading, and Louisiana. Have a great week! If you need some fiber, visit my shop!