Boudicca woad dye grown in Romsey
Apart from household vegetables one allotment member grows dye plants to use with spun wool for hand knitted garments.....she also grows Flax to process into linen.
To obtain a register of colours to work with these are some of the annuals, biannuals and perennials that are used. Plant dyes can provide a range of tones and vibrancy.
| common name | latin name | dye colour |
|---|---|---|
| Woad | Isatis Tinctoria | blue (see photo) |
| Ginista Tinctoria | golden yellow | |
| Weld | Reseda luteola | acid yellow |
| Madder | Rubia Tinctoria | orange through to red |
| Coreopsis | Coreopsis Tinctoria | yellow/orange |
| Hollyhocks | Anthemis inctoria | green |
| Polygonum Tinctorium | Turquoise blue |
The process to bring plant leaves into dye has many stages. Dedicated utensils are essential due to the toxicity of some plant compounds. Using the family saucepans can be quite hazardous.
- January and plant out at Easter
- Gather leaves in Summer and take 3 to 4 cuts in the first year
- Chop leaves into strips
- Pour boiling water over the cut plant leaves and steep for 30 minutes
- Strain off and decant the dye solution
- Add 2 spoons of washing soda to turn the dye alkaline and whisk to bring air into the solution. With Woad this produces a blue froth on top of the dark green liquid
- Lastly let the solution settle to remove the air
- The yellow/green dye is ready for use
If this mini-article has caught your imagination there is a lot more information on dye plants and the dying process available through the Internet search engines
Special thanks to Alex from Plot 38
Pictures of dyed wool and some of the plants above
