Dye and Mordants

My first experiments in natural dyeing

I have some experience with dyeing clothing from when I worked in a theatrical costume shop for a few years. These costumes were dyed in an old washing machine drum that we used exclusively for…
Marigold – a colour that lives up to it’s name.

At a lovely August weekend in Clara, Orlaith managed to demystify natural dyeing for me to a large extent. I got really excited! This was something new that I hadn’t tried yet, and the thought…
Tannins as a mordant

Tannins have been used for centuries both colour and help fix other colurs to fabric and yarn. By themselves they colour these anything from a light beige to brown. They are found naturally occurring in…
The Great Madder Experiment

As part of an event I ran called Féile na nÚll this year there was a workshop, a great madder experiment if you will, where people who wanted to participate brought tap water from different…
Brazilwood

If anyone ever tells you Pink is not a period colour – they lie. Pink is produced in a number of ways, not least of which is just allowing a red dyebath to exhaust into…
What usually goes to a workshop?

This is just a brief introduction to the dyestuffs that generally tend to come along with me to workshops, so if anyone sees something in here they are *DYING* to try, do let me know?…