Motives and Fun Facts – March 5
Nupoor C -
Hey Everyone! I went out to the Sonoran Conservancy of Fountain Hills this week to collect any wildflowers that may have started blooming. Unfortunately, there were none, but the flowers at the top of the ocotillo were in bloom so I was able to collect some of them. In other news, I finished drying some samples that I’ll talk about next week and I dyed the samples of brittlebush flowers. They also came out a pale yellow.
But I figured talking about my tests every week may get boring so I thought I’d mix it up and talk about my own journey and other aspects of natural dyes(like techniques and well-known ones) for the next couple of weeks while I complete my tests in the background. At this point you may be wondering why I decided to do this. Well, as everyone who knows me (and most people who know of me) know, I love my fiber crafts. After I learned the basics – knitting, crochet, and needlework – I started getting into spinning and yarn creation in general. Most spinners do dye their own yarn, and while those who want the vibrancy and saturation of artificials will use those, there are some people who will grow and forage for their own dyestuffs. When I started reading people’s blogs and books on dyeing, I realized only the first half about dyestuffs in the home would apply to us here in the Sonoran Desert. Sure, the internet said you could dye with prickly pear, but that process involved fermentation (more on that next week) and there was nothing else of note that anyone online, or in research, talked about. So I decided I’d find out for myself.
One another note, while I was learning about textile dyeing, I learned a bunch of fun facts I thought I’d share with you! Like the fact that many of the things in your kitchen right now are some of the most common natural dyes. Of course, everyone knows that turmeric stains, so it stands to reason that it colors fabric a bright yellow. Then there’s your teas and coffees, which can produce tans and browns, though herbal teas may produce more variations in undertones and shades. Red cabbage can dye your fabrics to a vibrant purple, though with the right additions (to change the pH) you can achieve a blue or even green! And those avocado pits you throw away? Those dye a light pink! A lot of these are found by experimentation by home dyers, so if I find any more interesting ones I’ll be sure to let you all know!
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