The Dyed Thread

I was pleasantly surprised to discover that by overdyeing some silk dyed with Madder that I could then produce a beautiful purple hue by overdyeing the silk in a dye bath made from Eucalyptus leaves (Ironbark tree) with an iron mordant. Now I’m not entirely sure of the science behind this happening, all I know is it looks exquisite and makes my heart sing. I gave this beautiful piece to my mum for mother’s day, it seemed fitting.

Below:  Silk shibori shawl dyed with Madder and Eucalyptus dyes. Pattern was created by wrapping and tieing fabric tightly around jars.

Hand spun yarn courtesy of Spinners and Weavers Guild, dyed with Madder

This has been my first adventure dyeing with the wonderous plant dye Madder.   An ancient dye which has been cultivated for thousands of years in many cultures, Madder produces shades from brick red to sandy orange. Experimenting with different mordants and fabrics can give a great variety of colours.

This yarn was dyed with aprox 15g of Madder powder. Here is the method I used:

The night before dyeing put the madder powder in a pot and add a small amount of cold water to make a paste. Next day fill your pot with more cold water to dye your cloth. Take pre washed and mordanted yarn (I used alum but you can experiment with copper or iron) and add to Madder dye bath, stir well. Bring the pot to a slow heat, keep on a low heat throughout dyeing. Keep the dye bath temperature between 40 – 60 degrees celsius. Do not over heat and make sure to stir regularly. Keeping the lid off will help it to not over heat. Let the yarn soak for two hours at least. I left my yarn in the bath overnight to allow it to fully absorb the dye pigment, this seems to work really well.

There are many methods for dyeing with Madder, mine is very much beginners level. Some Madder methods can seem very complicated but don’t let this put you off, just throw yourself into it and have a go!

Madder and onion skin dyed yarn, in the process of being crocheted

I have had immense success with using spinach as a dye. The leaves will yield a pastel mint green, which can be best described as a ‘winter green.’ Copper sulphate is the most appropriate mordant to use with spinach as it will move the dye bath toward green tones.

Silk Shirt in Spinach Dye Bath, 2011