I Tried to Plant Dye with Walnut and Madder

Welcome to a new video!
It is so fun to be back, it has absolutely been to long ❤️
During my last sewing videos, I have used fabrics for my sewing that has been plant dyed, and through that, I've got many questions about it. So in this video I take you with me, on a little journey, into the wonderful world of plant dyes!

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Common questions:
Camera - Panasonic Lumix gh5
Lenses - Olympus 12-40/2,8 and Panasonic Leica 42,5mm/1,2
Music - Epidemic sound

[taylarmarr]

Fellow Natural Dyer here! If you are able to dry the Husks of the walnut in the fall, you can save them to dye all during winter when they aren't available(Here in Canada at least) they give the same colour as they do when they are fresh! As well, Walnut's have the ability to Plant based fibres as well, so Cotton and Linen are possible. A good way to get huge pot is to either get a canning pot, or to go to a second-hand store and just buy the biggest pot available. 

A lot of flowers when used for Natural Dyes I find give better colours when Solar Dyed in Large (1 Liter) glass jars.
Fruit Dyes, Strawberries, Blueberries, (I think Billberries are the European version) Cherries, are best by simmering the dye bath for 30 minutes, then letting it steep for roughly 8 hours, then adding fibres, simmering briefly, then leaving for a two or so hours. Cherries make a soft purple, Strawberries make a soft Pink, Blueberries a soft purple, but with some baking soda a green-ish colour.
For both of these you don;'t want the heat to be too hot.

Here I'm just going to list Dyestuff that's commonly available:
Red Onion: If solar dyed for a week make a soft olive green, on Wool with Alum.
Yellow Onion Skins: Give a Burnt Orange if used in a high ratio, one of the natural dyes that gives a similar colour on Plant based Fibres.
Goldenrod: Not sure if it's available In Europe, but It gives the brightest yellow when the Dye stuff is cooked and alum and the wool is added to the dye bath together
Most Herbs will give a soft yellow-green if attempted to dye with.
Apple Tree: If you break some of the branches it will give a strong yellow colour.
Tansy: Also a Yellow
Privet Berries: Will give a blue, A teal, and a Sea-foam Green, if picked at different times of the year. This plant is a winter dye-plant and is best used from December to the end of January.
Jewelweed/tocuh-me-nots: Is a plant i'm pretty sure is native to North America, might not be available to you, However it will give an Orange colour.
Daffodils: If picked when the flower heads are dried, and solar dyed will give a strong and very pretty yellow, I leave them for a week, and the smell is terrible once opened, but the colour is beautiful. Since this one requires a large amount flower heads, unless you are overrun with Daffodils I'd recommend using it on a small amount of wool or yarn.
Dame's Rocket, :the flowers can give a blue-ish colour too, solar dyed for two days, and the dye bath should look like a strong purple colour before hand, then simmered for 30 minutes, then the fibres added for 30 minutes and simmered.
Willow twigs: Give a soft Orange, if the dye stuff is left to steep overnight, after being heated for an hour.
Rose of Sharon: Will give soft teal; Dyebath: 30 minutes simmered, an hour and half left to steep, dye fibres for 30 minutes, leave for an hour. this one is interesting because like Indigo it needs to be exposed to air to show the colour, after you take it out of the bath.

It is possible to get some shades of blue without using Indigo: Some Dark Red Lilies, cooked with the usual matter, of one hour heat for dyestuff, Wool and Alum together for an hour, then together for roughly an hour. Blue Potatoes, will also make a blue if done in the same way as the lilies. Rose of Sharon as well will give a
If you have a dyestuff that should give a blue-ish colour but for whatever reason is not, you can add some baking soda and it will turn it into a lime-ish Green colour. (Note: Not Indigo, Do not use with Indigo)

In regards to the Overdyeing of Green, Weld and Indigo: Yellow First, then blue gives a more standard plant colour green, while the other way gives a more teal green.

If you are planning on doing a lot of natural dyeing, and if you don't have one already a Dyebook is also helpful. That way you can add any new plants you find in the field, and how you did it, so you can repeat the process later.

Also, YES more plant dyeing video's please! It's exciting to see someone around my age as excited about natural dyeing as I am!

[DeborahWilkerson-ve]

I love your videos! Thank you!
I do have a tip, I didn't read the other comments so I don't know if anyone else suggested this. I am an artist and I use dyes and other things that have to be heated. I went to a thrift store and bought inexpensive pots and cookware and labeled them "For Art Only, Not For Food". I keep these utensils stored in a bin away from my cookware that I use for preparing meals. The bin is also labeled "For Art Only, Not For Food".
This keeps me from damaging the tools that I bought for food preparation. Also, just in case there is something in the art medium that is not safe for consuming, keeping separate pots and things keeps me from risking contaminating anything.
Because they don't really need to be nice or expensive for making art, I am able to get second hand or lower priced stock pots that are much larger than I would use for cooking.
I also found a camping stove at a thrift store so I can work outside and not make a mess in my kitchen.
Thank you for your videos!

[ryokomoonbeam]

Also, I love the cute grey skirt you're wearing.

[clarakoenig]

In English, a good word for this colour would be russet! It's glorious <3

Just to note, if you ever mordant your cloth with alum (basically soaking it in a solution of alum and water to make sure the colour sticks to the fabric better), make absolutely sure that you don't use your dyeing equipment for cooking food as alum can be toxic. But with just madder and walnut, I'm pretty sure it's safe :)

(Also, I admire your bravery in not wearing an apron XD I would have got brown and orange splashes ALL OVER my clothes!)

[nvlsti]

15:54 YOU HAVE THE FLUFFIEST CAT EVER.


Also, good job on the plant dyeing. BUT THE CAT, OMG.

[AgentPedestrian]

I used dandelion roots one summer because there were dandelions.... everywhere that year.


Made a really nice tan brown I must say 10/10 would dye again

[StephanieBacks]

you wear such pretty clothes while your dyeing! i would be so nervous.

[snyparaustralis]

If you want to do more dyeing in the future, check out home brewing supply websites, they sell 20L, 35L, and 55L pots (there’s probably other sizes, but those are pretty common)

[Katchtherabbit]

One thing you can do with madder, weld, and other similar plants is a cold dye. Use that white bucket you transferred your wool in and fill it with the right amount of water and madder root, or weld etc and then leave it for a week or so. That way you can achieve the bright colours along with an even dye! I would also recommend soaking your fabric with a mordant first if you want it to take up brighter colours.

[aestheticallyaspiring]

“Stove, no stove. Stove! No stove.”
Idk why but this made me laugh so hard😂 love how it turned out☺️

[lonitbonit]

Great, you've kick started an interest in plant dying... My husband will be so pleased. lol

[chrispe]

Well done! I love experimenting with plants & seeing what colours I can get.
My only suggestion is to be aware if the dye is “food safe”. I have used flowers to dye & then found out they were poisonous so now I only use that pot for dyes not food.
(But food safe plants you can use the pots for food).

That is such a beautiful piece of fabric!

[BabyMieuw]

Omg Elin! You are the most pure and genuine person on Youtube! I really like the honesty and realism you show.

Like at 6:20 when you knock the lid to the pan and then the expression on your face... That would happen to just about anyone, but instead of editing it out, you left it in your video's, which makes them a whole lot more relatable and approachable. (btw, it also reminded me of Rapunzel in the movie Tangled, when she knocks her frying pan to her head after she captured Flynn Rider..)

It's a joy to follow you on your journey through historical re-enactment and historical clothing manufacturing.



On a whole unrelated note, I absolutly love the grey skirt you are wearing from 11:34 onward. I wouldn't hesitate if I could buy the same one for myself somewhere in the Netherlands.

[aprilzarychta]

I have a very useful book on natural dyes. It's called Wild Color by a lovely woman named Jenny Dean. It divides plants and other natural dyestuffs up by color, larked with swatches at the edge of pages. Also lists different methods of fixing the dye like vinegar, alum, copper and iron baths, etc. Can't recommend it enough.

My friends and I have made yellow with onion skins, pink with lichens (and a urea mordant that I wouldn't recommend), and a gorgeous golden orange with turmeric.

When handling any of this stuff, it's a good idea to wear gloves. If it's meant to dye clothes, it will definitely stain your fingers. Many of the dyes and mordant baths can be irritating to skin, too, so make sure you're careful!

[VNicanndrais]

As I watched this I was knitting a sontag I dyed with onion skins and walnut. I usually soak my walnuts (husk, nut and all, mostly because they are black walnuts and I wasn't sure how good they are/am lazy) in water to ferment for a couple weeks or months. It gives me a super-rich dark brown that I love.

[minimina]

oh man that's such a nice color. damn, now I want to plant dye

[LanaFeyah]

Who knew that the path to pretty plant-based colours would be riddled with so many unforseen obstacles, haha! I love the end result, though!

[islandbirdw]

You and Jonna Jinton have a lot in common. Both from Sweden both blonde young artists and into plant based pigments. She makes them for painting her artwork and you are attempting simply a different type of artwork. I just want to applaud you for being a rare young person who still values the old traditional sewing weaving and dying skills.

[humbledaisy]

A charming example - and I love the color. Where I live, we leave the walnuts out on a country gravel driveway to dry and then drive a car over them to crack the nuts out.

[ericathefae]

Aaaah, you're so adorable!!!
The fabric turned out gorgeous by the way... I'd love to see more projects like this.