Plants have been used to dye wool, cotton and other fibers for generations. Natural dyes are extracted from the plants by pounding, shredding or cutting them up, followed by placing the plant in water and heating just below boiling point until the color transfers. When the resulting colored liquid is added to a mordant-saturated material, the dye will then adhere to the fibers of the material.
Examples of plants used for natural dyes include:
» Black: hickory bark, alder bark, dogwood bark, mountain mahogany bark
» Brown: birch bark, walnut shells, white oak
» Blue: sunflower seeds, larkspur petals, alfalfa flowers
» Green: broomsedge, moss, algae, juniper berries
» Purple: raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, rotten maple wood
» Red: goosefoot, sumac berries, beets, cranberries, willow or sandbar willow
» Yellow: black-eyed…