A little thread dyeing
A friend who is working on an embroidery project asked me where to get some naturally dyed threads. After giving her some suggestions of vendors, I offered to dye some myself. I don’t have great expertise, but I have some supplies and some experience. So I purchased six skeins of DMC “Very Light Mocha” cotton floss and went through my stash of supplies.
The first step was to wind the threads around objects. I used five rocks and one copper fitting. Then using jars and hot water, I made dye baths with
- Logwood extract
- Walnut extract with iron
- Old Marigolds saved from last year
- Madder extract with and without iron
- Goldenrod wound around copper
After sitting for a few days, the logwood turned the thread a beautiful vibrant purple. The madder with iron was quite brown. The walnut with iron was a nice gray, but I put it back in the bath for richer color. The madder without iron was bland, so I made a stronger bath and tried again.
I didn’t get very vibrant yellows from the old marigolds or the goldenrod, so I overdyed those in an additional heated bath of dye blossoms from the garden.
Final results. I’m looking forward to seeing what my friend stitches with them!
