Plant Dyed Yarn

Properties & Qualities

Application

Art Product Sample making

Qualities

3D Colourful Flexible Textured / tactile

Colour

Yellow

Sample Information

Date of Creation

July 20th, 2022

Dimensions

110m

Weight

100g

Culture & Context

This yarn sample was created for an ambitious tapestry project called “Seasons of the Sea”. I worked on it during a Covid19 lockdown with plant materials foraged from my grandmothers garden.

Process & Production

The process usually takes a couple of days to complete. The plant materials can be collected in advance and dried or frozen. The colour produced will vary depending on a number of factors including time of year the plant materials are harvested and whether fresh, dried or frozen plant materials are used. The timings can vary. For stronger colours, you can heat the dye pot twice or let the plant materials sit in the dye pot overnight before adding the yarn.

Recipe Details

100g of mordanted wool yarn.100g of sustainably foraged nettles.1 stainless steel pan1 wooden spoon

1. Plant materials added to stainless steel pan of water.

2. Heat at a medium temperature for 45 minutes (simmered not boiled) and mix every now and then.

3. Soaked yarn hank in warm water for 30 minutes.

4. Add yarn hank to dye pot with plant materials and heat on low temperature for 30 minutes. Gently mix once or twice to ensure all fibre is exposed to dye pigments.

5. Leave dye pot for 24hrs to cool.

6. Remove yarn from dye pot and gently rinse in warm water.

7. Hang yarn up to dry and safely dispose of finished dye pot. Dye pots with leftover pigment can be reused to produce lighter shades.