Natural Dyes

 My yarns are all dyed naturally using dye-stuffs I have grown in my small dye garden, collected responsibly near my home in rural Lincolnshire, or obtained from UK suppliers. It takes 2-3 years before madder roots are ready to harvest, and most plants are seasonal so I collect and dry as much as I can to use in the winter months.

Natural dyeing is a time consuming process, however the colours are unique and blend together well. Usually the dye material needs steeping overnight and simmering to extract the colour and then cooling down before immersing the yarns and simmering again. Each dye-pot is different due to temperature and pH of the water, therefore the shades may not be repeated exactly.

I dye my yarns in various ways, usually in a hot dye bath, but in summer I use the power of the sun to Solar dye, which although a slower process, gives unique effects by combining different dye plants. I have started experimenting with eco-bundling my yarn and steaming. I often reuse the dye material and dye bath many times; which enables me to achieve a variety of colours and avoids wasting any valuable dye, energy and water.       

The yarns are first mordanted which enables the dye colours to penetrate the fibres and fix to the yarn.  I use a food grade Cream of Tartar, and Alum, a natural rock salt, once mined along the East Yorkshire coast. Dyes that are rich in tannins do not need mordanting but I believe you get a better colour so I generally mordant all my yarn before dyeing. I also reuse the mordant water several times as this enables me to use less of the mordant. 

I try to capture colours as accurately as possible but monitors etc. differ. 

Please contact me if you would like some advise about colours or are after a garment quantity as this may need to be dyed to order.  

Care Instructions

These yarns may felt (especially non super-wash). It is recommended that you gently hand wash your finished accessories or garment in luke warm water with a mild pH neutral wool-wash or dish-washing detergent.  Do not rinse in vinegar as this is sometimes used as a colour modifier and may change the colour. Although the yarn has been well rinsed you may find there is some dye residue left but this is perfectly harmless.  Dry flat if possible and store your knitwear out of direct sunlight to preserve the colour from fading and increase the longevity of your garments.