Tag Archives: natural fabric dye

5 Ways How To Dye With Fresh Woad Leaves

15th November 2022Natural Dyeing & Printingblue, natural dye, natural fabric dye, tutorial, woadLina

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

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

15th November 2022Natural Dyeing & Printingarticle, blue, medieval, natural dye, natural fabric dye, victorian, woadLina

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 →

Handwoven Corset Top

1st October 2022Sewing & Crochetblue, corset, hand sewing, historybounding, natural fabric dye, red cabbage, sewing, weavingLina

Because my modern 18th century recycled denim stays turned out so comfy I made another DIY corset top! 😀 This time I used handwoven fabric in blue and white for my corset top. The corset top laces up the back and is closed with hooks and eyes at the center front. It’s constructed using lapped seams and the old German stitch (also known as baseball stitch), and it’s unboned except for the two necessary bones at the back. Continue reading Handwoven Corset Top →

How To Dye Cotton Blue With Red Cabbage (No Mordant)

24th May 2022Natural Dyeing & Printingblue, natural dye, natural fabric dye, red cabbage, tutorialLina

I’ve written up a follow-up to my tutorial on how to dye cotton blue with red cabbage because it’s one of the most popular posts on my blog! 😀 Continue reading How To Dye Cotton Blue With Red Cabbage (No Mordant) →

9 DIY Mordants – Red Cabbage Dye Samples

24th May 2022Natural Dyeing & Printingblue, iron, mordant, natural dye, natural fabric dye, red cabbage, tanninLina

Red cabbage dye is my favorite natural dye because you can dye cotton fabric blue even without using a mordant! 😀 Continue reading 9 DIY Mordants – Red Cabbage Dye Samples →

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

24th May 2022Natural Dyeing & Printinggreen, hazelnut, natural dye, natural fabric dye, tannin, tutorialLina

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

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)

24th May 2022Natural Dyeing & Printingblack beans, blue, natural dye, natural fabric dye, tutorialLina

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

14th May 2022Natural Dyeing & Printingblue, mordant, natural dye, natural fabric dye, red cabbageLina

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

14th May 2022Natural Dyeing & Printingblack beans, hazelnut, mordant, natural dye, natural fabric dye, red cabbageLina

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!

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

17th February 2022Natural Dyeing & Printingblue, DIY, natural fabric dye, tannin, tutorialLina

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 →