Dye-ing Mamas - I need your help

[Sandra Dee]

I over-spent at Dharma this spring and have a bunch of blanks left and don't know what to do with them. I'm out of dye, and can't place an order right now - so I'm thinking of trying my hand at vegetable dyes. Has anyone tried this or know how?

I did the last set of stuff with stamps and - oh, crud - I can't remember the name of the paint (Soleil stuff from Dharma).

I wasn't thrilled with the results of the heliographing at all - it was barely noticeable. So, in the future, I think I'll do solid dye.

Tie Dye is fun, but the mamas out there have mastered it (Think Dragonfly and the like) and it's not "conservative" enough for DH . What else can I try?

I'd like to start in the fall with really natural colors - earthy stuff, yk? I think vegetable dyes are the way to go, but I haven't found much about them or their permanence. Any ideas?

Muchos gracias, senoritas!!!

[OceanMomma]

I've never done much natural dyeing but really want to give it a go soon. It's on my never ending to do list. There is a good book you could look out for in the library called a dyer's manual by Jill Goodwin I think?

[JenniferC]

I've only dyed with synthetics so far, but an excellent book that I've looked at from my local library is Wild Color by Jenny Dean. If you can get your hands on that I highly recommend it. It explains the mordanting process, and has colour swatches for each plant as combined with the different mordants and that's tres useful in my opinion!

Jennifer
Expecting Baby #1 April 06!

[Sara Mama]

Well, onion skins are good if you don't mind stewing your stuff in them for hours and you have a lot (yellow ones)

Also, berries once they come in season.

But for ease, just use Kool-aid! - Do a search on Google and you will find directions. Cheap, easy, and safe, although not that natural, but I'd rather wear it then drink it!