How to make natural dyes to dye your textiles?
The natural dye of tea
To give a patinated look, to even out a yellowish fabric over time or to dye the wool, you can use the tea or linden tree that will give a brown shade to your textiles.
Instructions for use: before starting the dyeing process, always soak the garment to be dyed in cold water with a fixative (one part white vinegar to 4 parts cold water).
Natural DyePhoto Engin Akyurt on Pixabay
Meanwhile, boil 5 liters of water in a pot and add 20 bags of black tea.
Remove the pot from the heat and let it cool. Remove the tea bags and drain the cloth that was soaked in water with vinegar to immerse it in this infusion.
Boil the water again for 30 minutes, stirring regularly.
Then let it cool down with the fire. Last step: rinse the clothes and let them dry in the open air, away from the sun.
Good to know: you can replace tea with coffee or chicory, count 100g of soluble coffee for 6 liters of boiling water.
Natural dyeing with leaves
No doubt you will enjoy picking some leaves during a fall walk in the forest. After the herbarium, take the opportunity to improvise a natural dyeing workshop with the children.
The leaves and bark give beautiful shades such as orange brown (walnut leaves), green (chestnut leaves), green-yellow (ivy and birch leaves) or pale yellow (laurel leaves).
Instructions for use: soak the garment to be dyed in cold water with a fixative (one part white vinegar to 4 parts cold water). Then, with a pair of large scissors, cut the leaves into small pieces to release a maximum of coloring substances.
Infuse the leaves for one hour in a pot of boiling water (count two measures of water for one measure of plants).
Filter the juice, add the garment to be dyed to the bath and put it back on the fire for an hour, stirring it from time to time. Finally, let everything cool down from the fire overnight.
The next day, rinse the garment and let it dry in the open air, away from the sun.
Did you know that? The bark of the tall fir tree and the avocado skins give a pink tint.
The natural dye of spices
Saffron, paprika, curry... their cuisine hides many natural colorants. The spices give, in fact, beautiful shades of yellow or orange. Use them to revive a faded garment or give a second life to a light-colored textile (from white to light gray).
Instructions for use: soak the garment to be dyed in cold water with a fixative (one part white vinegar to 4 parts cold water). Meanwhile, heat 4 liters of water in a pot without bringing it to a boil.
Remove from heat and dissolve the powder of the chosen spice in this warm water.
Drain the cloth that was soaked in vinegar water and immerse it in the pot of warm water that you bring to a boil gradually.
Leave the fabric in the fire for one hour, stirring it regularly. Then let the fabric cool overnight in the pot. The next day, rinse the cloth and dry it outdoors, well out of the sun.
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