Saturday 1 March 2014

Dying with Lichen 2


This is the lichen I have fermented with urine.  I then added soft water and boiled for several hours.   The whole house stinks!!!!!  I think this is a job for the camping stove and outside in the garden.  The end product is the sample in the small bowl.    Next job is to dye small yarn and maybe some Galway fleece. This lichen is very common in the woods here and is on the ground everywhere,  dye color for free?   I will wait until I see the end product

6 comments:

  1. Most interesting articles. My mother dyed wool using natural products...I seem to remember onion skins were one of her favorites, creating colours from pale yellow to deep orange.I might still have her 'recipies' somewhere.

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    1. Hi Sarah, Onion skins are one of the best plant dye and have the great advantage of being available all year round. Although I have never used them. Really must and would like to try for the orange colours. Do you have recipes for other plants as well I am very interested, Mary

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    2. Hi Mary
      My books are in store at the moment. Should be able to access them by mid April...so I will message you then!

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    3. Thank you it would be interesting . It is difficult to find much out about some plants and I sort of just go by trial and error so maybe your Mum has some interesting information

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  2. Ooh! How exciting! Do you have any idea what sort of shades you'd get from lichens? Although I think I'm glad that pictures don't have smells!
    Looking forward to the finished product too! :D

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  3. The large lichen produces dark browns but I have hope that the beast on the window sill will mature to give purples/pinks

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