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Our natural dyes can be used to dye any natural fibres.  You can use garments, fabric, yarn, unspun fleece, housewares such as napkins or tea towels and more.  

It should be 100% natural fibre, but can be cotton, linen, hemp, silk, wool, alpaca, mohair, etc.   If your fibre has a very small amount of synthetic fibre, such as a t-shirt that is 95% cotton 5% elastine, or a sock yarn that is 95% wool, 5% nylon, it will still dye without much noticeable difference.  

However, if it has a higher synthetic content, such as a 50/50 cotton/polyester blend, it will greatly affect the colour.  Only the cotton, or natural fibres, will dye, and the synthetic won't.
In general, this will result in significantly paler shades.

All of our kits come with comprehensive instructions, geared towards a beginner dyer. You can find all our kits here:

https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/theloveofcolours?ref=seller-platform-mcnav§ion_id=26276458

Our bulk dyes are intended for experienced dyers, or folks who have other resources to teach them how to dye.

- hot water

- a bucket or large vessel, ideally one that can hold around 15-20 litres. It doesn't have to be anything fancy - I usually just use one of the cheap plastic buckets with a handle from the hardware store. But you can also use a rubbermaid bin or a canning pot

- second bucket or vessel that you can drip into. This one can be smaller

- something to stir with - a metal or wooden spoon, or even just a stick

- rubber or latex gloves (optional, but if you opt out, you'll have blue hands

- items to dye - can be garments, yarn, fabric, housewares, anything as long as it's natural fibre - and it needs to be pre-washed

- 1/4 cup of white vinegar, or the juice from 2 limes or lemons

- a cooking pot that you can cook the dyes in

- a strainer or some cheesecloth that you can use to strain the dyes

- a bowl or something to strain the dye extract into

- a spoon or something to stir with

- items to dye - can be garments, yarn, fabric, housewares anything as long as it's natural fibre

All of our dyes are sold dried and/or powdered, and have a very long shelf life if kept stored in a cool, dry place.

There are several things that will determine what colour each dye produces, the most important being what you are dyeing, and how much dye you use.

The main consideration is how much dye you use - almost always, more dye will give you darker colours, and less dye will give you paler colours. Recipes and guidelines are generally given for a medium depth of shade. If you would like darker colours, you need to use more.

Dye amounts are calculated based on a percentage weight of fibre (wof), which means you determine how much your fibre weighs, and multiply it by the percentage given for each dyestuff.

For example: for a 100g skein of yarn, and your wof percentage is 5, you need 5 grams of dye.

What is a mordant and do I need one?
Mordanting is the process of adding a soluble metal to the fibre, which aids the dye in adhering to the fibre.

Almost all natural dyes require the use of a mordant. The most common mordant is alum (potassium aluminum sulfate) a food safe ingredient that used in pickling, which gives a clear bright shade.

Cochineal, Osage, Logwood and Madder all require the use of a mordant. We sell alum here:

https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/774153697

If you are dyeing cellulose or plant fibres such as cotton, you also need to pre-treat your fibre with a substance that is high in tannins. Our favourite is gallnut, which leaves the fibres clear and bright. You can find it here:

https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/760260

Indigo is a great fit for resist dyeing because the fabric goes in and out of the vat for short amounts of time, so the dye doesn't tend to seep in behind the resists. However, it is only one colour - blue.

If you want more colours, you can use our Natural Dye Kit, but the dyes in this kit need to be heated, and for at least 45 minutes. The combination of time and heat means that the dyes are more likely to seep in behind the resists, so they have to be super tight! We did some experimenting with creating strong dye extracts with our kit, then squirting them directly onto the fabric, and then steaming it all together. See more here: https://www.juliesinden.com/blogs/natural-dye-tips-and-tutorials/tie-dyeing-with-natural-dyes

- a measuring cup for liquids

- a regular or immerision/hand blender

- something to apply the clay paste with - it can be stencils, paint brushes, silk screens, lino cuts, wood blocks, etc

- an indigo vat to dye the resisted fabric in

- fabric to print on. It can be any natural fibre, but we recommend something without too much texture. Coloured or previously dyed fabric works as well. If your fabric is yellow, for example, it will remain yellow where you apply the paste, and will become green where it mixes with the blue from the indigo vat.