Natural dyeing

I finished spinning all the angora wool I had except for some I am saving. So . . . now what to do? I still have a garbage bag full of fleece from a Texel sheep that was given to me a while ago. It isn't the nicest wool for a finished yarn but I decided to pull some of it out and start experimenting with natural dyes. I dyed some wool years ago using marigolds and it was a lovely yellow. Yellow is pretty much the most common natural dye available. Only problem is I don't really like yellow! It is also the middle of winter so not many plants growing enough to collect material for dying. After a bit of research I decided to try onion skins. The results were amazing and have gotten me really excited to try more and different stuff. The onion skins gave me a really pretty rust colour and a lighter shade of rust. I tried some in my cast iron pot to try and get an olive green bu8t it turned out a duller shade of rust. I did notice that the finished yarn turned green where the wet wool was touching the metal coat hanger that I had it hanging on to dry though! So that coat hanger is soaking in a pot of water awaiting my next batch of onion skins!

I also tried some coffee. I was hoping for a dark brown but got a REALLY pretty almost coppery tan colour. I have just started spinning it and it is lovely. I soaked this batch of wool in a vinegar solution for quite a while and when I started carding the dyed wool I noticed it was MUCH softer than the same wool that I have been using . . . not sure yet if it was the coffee or the vinegar solution that caused it but it is actually soft enough now that I might be able to use it for something other that colour swatches and samplers! A sweater in coffee brown would be perfect.

Lichens are another great source of natural dye that does not need a mordant so I gathered a few tiny bits from my old fence to see what I would get. It turned out a light tan colour that is actually kind of pretty too. I need to do a lot more research and employ the help of my botanist husband to identify the lichens as they all produce something different and some don't dye at all.

I plan to plant a bunch of different dye plants in the front garden this year but until they mature I will be trying stuff that I can find around home and later in the season collect some goldenrod and nettles.

Here is what the onion skins look like (carded wool and spun single). . .



And the finished yarn (2 ply, one was the darker onion skin batch and the other was a lighter shade of onion skin) . . .



the coffee (with some natural coloured wool for comparison). . .



And a sample card I made comparing the different finished yarn colours . . .