Dyeing with Nettles
During ‘Lockdown’ on my daily walk I collected nettles to try dyeing with them. It actually turned out much more successfully than I thought it would! First I gently simmered the nettles for about an hour. The I strained the nettles to collect my dye.
I selected a range of different fabrics to try including some threads too.
This was the end result. The brighter fabric was a pale blue silk to start with.
Dyeing with Bayleaf
I followed the same process as above but I only had dried bayleaf. I think fresh ones would have worked better but I did end up with a gentle rose type colour that I was pleased with.
Dyeing with Forsythia
This one didn’t turn out so well. I think I needed a lot more petals but I had hard pruned my forsythia last year and I didn’t want to pinch any from other people!!
To get this better result because the first go was so pale I added iron water to the dye. (Rusty nails, vinegar and water in a jar and left for a few days)