An Introduction to Botanical Dyeing, with Botanical Threads
Throughout my Instagram explorations some of my favourite accounts are those run by makers: not only do they post beautiful photographs, but they’ve actually made the things they’re posting – a double whammy of creativity.One of the makers I’ve got to know is Alicia from @botanicalthreads. She makes scarfs, tea towels and other textiles using natural plant dyes she makes herself. It seems like such a perfectly slow craft - taking time over the stove, hours worth of dyeing and setting, the waiting to see how it will turn out. I was fascinated by the fact that it was something that people could actually just do in their kitchen.So I caught up with Alicia to find out more about botanical dyeing, get clued up on her process and tipsand find out how to get started in your own kitchen this weekend...
The Basics
What is botanical dyeing?
Botanical dye is a dye that is made using part or all of a plant. For example rosemary and lavender produce a dye from their leaves, the madder plant produces a dye from its roots, and the dye from avocados is extracted from their stones and skins. The dyes can be extracted just by soaking the plants in hot water, though sometimes they need the addition of chalk or iron to enhance the colours.
How did you get into botanical dyeing?
During the day I work as a gardener for the National Trust and I first came across botanical dyeing in a gardening book. I then spent the next 3 weeks collecting carrot tops from the vegetable garden at work and made my first dye: a lovely green colour that I dyed a canvas bag with.Unfortunately I discovered that carrot top dye is not in the slightest bit colour-fast and within a few days the green colour had faded to almost nothing, so this led me to spend a long time researching and practising techniques.
The Fun Stuff
Describe your process from avocado to scarf:
Before I dye it, I treat the fabric with soya milk which acts as a natural fixative between the dye and the fabric. I soak the fabric several times and after it has dried a final time I leave it for at least a week, to let the the soya milk properly settle into the fibres.To make the avocado dye I heat either the skins or stones (they make different colours so don't mix them) in water and leave them to soak for several days, until the water turns a deep shade of pink/red. Avocado dye is high is tannins so the colour sticks to the fabric quickly. To achieve the lightest shades of pink sometimes the fabric only needs to be in the dye pot for 30 seconds.After dyeing, I always leave the fabric for at least a week, before ironing it to fix the colour and washing it to get rid of any excess dye.
Are there any safety precautions you need to take?
It's important to remember to keep food away from your dyeing area and to keep separate utensils and pots specially for dyeing. It's also important to keep the room well ventilated when you are dyeing and avoid inhaling the fumes from a pot when your lift the lid to check. Just because you a working with natural products doesn't mean that they are harmless - some of the worlds most powerful drugs are created from plants, remember!
What plants can you use to dye?
I think the most fail safe plants to dye with are avocados as these tend to produce consistent colours (pink/peachy-pink) and are light-fast and colour-fast on fabrics. Eucalyptus procures a nice peach shade but does sometimes take a really long time to extract the colour from the plant.Rosemary and lavender produce shades of grey and have the benefit of making the whole house smell delicious when they are heated. If you give yourself time to experiment a little you can discover so many amazing shades. Admittedly you will come across a lot of beiges but there are some surprises out there.
What are your favourite plants to dye with?
My favourite plants to dye with are avocado and rosemary because they produce my favourite colours: pink and grey. I am such an avocado addict, I eat on average about 6 a week so luckily I have a constant supply of dye material. I'm a currently experimenting with a few natural dye extract powders which allows me to dye with plants that are hard to grow in England. I'm really excited about the new colours I can now produce.
I've always been baffled that avocados dye things pink. How can you tell what colour a plant will turn?
If I'm completely honest I have no idea why avocados dye things pink. I think it may be a little above my understanding of science! There isn't really an easy way to tell what colour a plant will produce. Some plants produce a dye the colour of their flowers and with some things like beetroot or berries it is obvious, but with a lot of plants you will only really find out by experimenting.
The Experience
What is it that you love about botanical dyeing?
I really love plants and to me it's a new way to connect with nature. There's something really nice about creating beautiful things from natural ingredients, especially in the chemical filled world that we are living in. It makes me look a the world in a different way and I feel like I am keeping up a forgotten art. This is what we did before we created chemical dyes.The beautiful thing about botanical dyes is that they can be unpredictable: the age of the plant, the soil that it is grown in, the water used for making the dye and how the plants have been stored can all affect the colour of the dyes. Sometimes this can mean a subtle shift in tones, whereas other times this can mean a totally different colour is produced (for example, goldenrod flowers produce a yellow if they are open and a green dye is produced if the plant is used before it is flowering).
Is it an easy afternoon activity or are there lots of set up costs and timings to consider?
Plant dyeing is so easy to start (you don't need any specialist equipment), but it is a slow process - don't expect to have a finished pieces of dyed material in a few hours. The fabric takes several weeks to prepare in the soya milk, the plants can often take a week (or more) to produce a dye and then fabric often has to be left to soak in the dye for several days. I always have lots of different projects on the go, all at different stages in the dyeing process.
Does it help you to think and live more slowly?
Oh yes definitely! Because the actual dyeing process is so lengthy it really makes me enjoy the process, not just the finished piece. And then there's the weeks and weeks of waiting for a specific plant to be in flower so that I can use it for dye making!
What are your tips for anyone thinking of having a go at botanical dyeing?
I only have one tip really, and that's just to get out there and do it. Have fun, experiment and see what you come up with.I am inspired by so many people that I have found on Instagram. @rebeccadesnos has a great book that I wish I had discovered at the beginning of my dyeing journey, and @gregoriafibers uses the most gorgeous colour combinations in her yarns.
What's in store for Botanical Threads this year?
I'm currently experimenting with natural dye extract powders to produce a wider range of colours, which I want to combine in interesting and new ways to what I've done in the past. Avocado dye will always be at the heart of Botanical Threads so I am concentring on colours that harmonise with the pinks that avocados produce.In terms of new products I have so many ideas and custom requests from people that it's hard to know where to begin. In the pipeline are cushions and table linen to compliment my polka dot tea towels such as linen napkins and table cloths. I professionally studied Fashion Design at the London College of Fashion so I have plans for some wearable Botanical Threads items soon too. I highly recommend following Alicia on Instagram @botanicalthreads - all the gorgeous photos in this post are hers. Her store is at www.botanicalthreads.co.uk, but keep checking back as she sells out quickly!