Natural Yarn Dyes

Bauer and Zethraeus, faculty at Konstepidemin, an artists’ workspace in Sweden, have created a guide for the home yarn maker interested in using sustainable dyes. The authors avoid toxic dyes and processes as well as those that are likely to fade quickly. The book begins with the basics, including safety measures, lightfastness, equipment, and variables that will impact color. It provides instructions for a basic dyeing process, including preparation of the yarn, using mordant, and mixing the dye bath. It then offers dye recipes using a variety of plants, fungi, and lichen, which produce a wide range of colors. Some of these materials, including onions and beets, are available at grocery stores, but others will be more elusive, and readers may need to order them. Instructions are clear and detailed but not wordy, and each recipe is accompanied by photographs of the plants used, as well as dyed samples. Back matter includes a glossary, further reading, and links to two knitting patterns.

VERDICT Accessible to beginners yet interesting for readers with some dyeing experience, this guide will appeal to fiber enthusiasts who want to expand the range of colors available to them and are willing to experiment.

– Judy Poyer * Library Journal *

For anyone wanting to move beyond the available commercial yarn shades and create their own naturally dyed yarn, this is a great resource. The authors discuss preparations, mordanting, lightfastness and more, before moving on to recipes with a large variety of natural dyes - from red onion to rhubarb, logwood and lichens. An inspirational book for those looking to experiment!

* Inside Crochet *

This is another new book on natural dyeing which emphasises sustainability. Nicely designed with attractive illustrations, it is a translation of a book first published in Sweden.

It starts with a relatively brief introduction to dyeing including safety information and moves on to mordanting and using modifiers to extend the colour range. The proportion of alum in the basic recipe for alum mordant seems high, but there are also recommendations for natural mordants. The recipes are for woollen yarns with bleached yarns recommended to get the clearest colours. For dyeing fleece and handspun yarn this probably isn’t helpful.

The illustrations show an admirable range of bright colours, but don’t indicate which modifiers were used on individual skeins. The dye recipes cover plants, plus fungi (four species) and lichens (two species) with suitable guidance on responsible collecting. These all seem to be species available in Britain. All claim good lightfastness, even though beetroot and red cabbage are included, with recipes which include an oven-baking technique which apparently improves lightfastness.

The indigo section mentions woad but only includes a recipe for a fructose/lime vat with indigo powder - it is not specified whether natural or synthetic. Overall, an attractive book.

– Hilary Miller * Journal for Weavers, Spinners and Dyers 295 *

I was recently sent “Natural Yarn Dyes”, a new book on natural dyeing published by Search Press. The book is written by two Swedish craftswomen, Anna Bauer and Eva Zethraeus, and is a lively and useful introduction to the basics of the craft. It contains 25 recipes for obtaining vibrant colours from a range of natural dyes, including some recipes for using fungi and lichens. Although the title refers to yarn, the recipes are equally suitable for fabric. Most of the colour sources mentioned are classic traditional dyes, with the exception of beetroot and red cabbage, which I was surprised to find included, as they are not generally regarded as true dyes. However, the recipes given for them differ from the usual ones, so it will be interesting to see and test the results. There are also details for lightfastness testing and hints for sustainable dyeing. The information is clearly presented and the book is enhanced by a wealth of colour photos throughout. It’s worth noting that the book deals mainly with dyeing woollen fibres, so if you want to dye vegetable fibres this may not be the book for you. A slight disadvantage is that there is no index, so it isn’t always easy to find information but otherwise there is little to find fault with. In general, I think this book is a useful resource, especially for beginners, and more experienced dyers should also find something new in its pages. All in all, I liked it and would recommend it to anyone embarking on naturally dyeing woollen fibres.

– Jenny Dean

Anna Bauer is a textile artist with a Masters in textile art from Hoegskolan for Design and Arts and Crafts in Goeteborg, Sweden. Aside from knitting, Anna also incorporates embroidery, print, and costume into her artwork and textile designs.

Zethraeus is a ceramic artist with a master’s degree from HDK (Academy of Art and Design in Gothenburg, Sweden). She creates sculptures inspired by nature.