Category Archives: Natural Dyeing & Printing

5 Ways How To Dye With Fresh Woad Leaves

Learn how to dye with fresh woad leaves without using hazardous chemicals.

5 Ways How To Dye With Fresh Woad Leaves

After dyeing cotton fabric & clothes blue with red cabbage and black beans, my next natural dye experiment is dyeing cotton fabric blue with homegrown fresh woad leaves. However, I don’t want to use the common woad vat with hazardous chemicals. So after some internet research I found 5 promising natural woad dye recipes without hazardous chemicals: Two of them are traditional fermentation vats, one uses stale urine, one uses salt and one uses vinegar. Continue reading 5 Ways How To Dye With Fresh Woad Leaves

How To Dye With Woad & Indigo – Historical Dye Recipes

How To Dye With Woad Indigo Historical Dye Recipes

In the past, indigo, woad and pastel (a variety of woad) was used to dye wool and cotton fabric blue. Indigo and woad dye are different from other natural dyes because the dye isn’t water soluble: you have to make a vat. Today, chemicals are used to make a quick vat. In the past, however, it was usually a fermentation vat using different ingredients like bran, madder, yeast, weld, molasses, urine, potash and lime. Continue reading How To Dye With Woad & Indigo – Historical Dye Recipes

How To Dye Cotton Green With Red Hazelnut Leaves (No Mordant)

Dye cotton with red hazelnut leaves a beautiful lightfast and washfast green without mordant!

How To Dye Cotton Green With Red Hazelnut Leaves No Mordant Needed

I was so surprised when I found out that red hazelnut leaves dye cotton fabric green! 😀 Despite most plants being green, it’s difficult to dye fabric green with natural dyes. In the past, green fabric was usually first dyed yellow and then over-dyed with blue dye.

But red hazelnut leaves turn cotton fabric green in one step! Continue reading How To Dye Cotton Green With Red Hazelnut Leaves (No Mordant)

How To Dye Cotton With Black Beans (No Mordant)

How To Dye Cotton Blue With Black Beans No Mordant Needed

A couple of years ago I’ve already published a tutorial on how to dye cotton fabric blue with black beans using DIY iron mordant and a cold dyeing process. This is now a different method to dye cotton gray blue with black beans. You don’t need to mordant the fabric before dyeing it with black beans! 😀 And because it’s a hot dyeing method, it’s also a lot faster. Continue reading How To Dye Cotton With Black Beans (No Mordant)

9 FAQs About Dyeing Cotton Blue With Red Cabbage

Red cabbage dye sample

Red cabbage dye is my favorite natural blue dye for cotton fabric and cotton clothing! 😀 You can use red cabbage to dye cotton blue even without a mordant. Or you can make DIY iron mordant to make the color darker and to improve the wash fastness of red cabbage dyed fabric. Continue reading 9 FAQs About Dyeing Cotton Blue With Red Cabbage

14 FAQs About Eco-Friendly Natural Dyeing

If you’re just getting started with natural dyeing, here are some frequently asked questions & answers about eco-friendly and sustainable natural dyeing: The eco-friendly natural dyeing 101!

Homemade Natural Blue Food Coloring With Red Cabbage

Do you want to know how to dye your own clothes and fabric in an eco-friendly and sustainable way with natural dyes? Natural dyeing is a fun process but it’s also good for the environment. So let’s get started with natural dyeing! 😀 Continue reading 14 FAQs About Eco-Friendly Natural Dyeing

How To Dye Cotton Fabric Black Naturally

How To Dye Cotton Fabric Black Naturally

Cellulose fibers, like cotton, linen and rayon, are more difficult to dye with plants than protein fibers like wool and silk. It’s possible to dye cotton fabric black but it takes time: at least three days (or rather a week) from start to finish! Because you have to scour the fabric, extract the dye, dye the fabric, modify the color and overdye the fabric again. But even if it’s a lengthy process, it’s very budget-friendly and sustainable: Because you probably have the materials already at home or can gather them outdoors! Continue reading How To Dye Cotton Fabric Black Naturally

How To Make DIY Natural Holi Powder From Scratch

Make your own DIY natural holi powder from scratch with cornstarch and fruits & vegetables!

How To Make DIY Natural Holi Powder From Scratch

I’ve always wanted to make a holi powder photoshoot with my dog. But I didn’t want to use store-bought holi powder because it’s expensive and I don’t know what’s in it. And as I often make homemade natural food coloring, I thought why not make my own DIY natural holi powder from scratch with fruits and vegetables. Making DIY natural holi powder is cheap, easy and so fun! Continue reading How To Make DIY Natural Holi Powder From Scratch