New Member Introductions

Please take the time to introduce yourself and let us know your experience level with natural dyes. NOTE it is not required that you have dyed with natural dyes to be a member here!

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Permalink Reply by kimberly baxter packwood on May 27, 2009 at 1:04pm: Hi Everyone

I'm Kimberly Baxter Packwood your forum mom! I've been dyeing with natural dyes since 1994ish, thanks the the lady who owned the local fiber shop I was able to keep working with dyes - I had a bad allergic reaction to synthetic dyes. I started with onion skins and cochineal and never looked back!

I have since evolved from immersion dyeing to compost dyeing (fermentation contact dyeing) and rust dyeing. These two techniques are my favorites as they give a large range of colors and often textures onto the fabrics and papers. I"m also a fiber artist, I use the fabrics for creating art quilts etc.,

Kimberly; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Kath Walls on July 10, 2009 at 8:40am: Hi, I'm Kath, English but retired here on Crete. Before coming over I attended a wonderful City and Guilds foundation course in the UK and want to persue all the techniques I learned there.
We did a little dying and I brought dyes with me for natural and synthetic fibres. However I'd love to learn how to dye from natural sources. There is a book here in Greek which I am not fluent in but at least it identifies the plants to use. But what I haven't learned are about "mordants" etc. so would love to learn some basic easy steps without having to purchase more items. We don't have any shops here that sell craft stuff of this calibre but evidently chemists sell stuff by their generic name, also there are a lot of wholefood shops that would probably sell necessary stuff. When I read things on the internet they always seem to have trade names which I don't know about.
Thanks for any help and I'm really looking forward to reading all the background stuff on everyone's page to get me up to speed.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by kimberly baxter packwood on July 10, 2009 at 11:08pm: Welcome Kath definately ask if you have questions there are lots of knowledgable dyer's here that can help!

Kimberly; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by arlee on July 21, 2009 at 1:02pm: I'm arlee, in Calgary Alberta. I've rust dyed a fair bit but never really had the room for it. Now that my Greyman and i are on a largish property with a funky basement and garage, i'm looking forward to doing more. I also dug a 5x9' section by the back wall of the garage and have started a compost dye---it's covered with enough plastic that i don't think the neighbours will have to pittapat their little suburban hearts too much. I also discovered odd patches of rhubarb, which i'm dying to dye with :}
Looking forward to learning more!; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by kimberly baxter packwood on July 21, 2009 at 1:05pm: Welcome Arlee... looking forward to your participation here! How's the indigo going?

arlee said:
I'm arlee, in Calgary Alberta. I've rust dyed a fair bit but never really had the room for it. Now that my Greyman and i are on a largish property with a funky basement and garage, i'm looking forward to doing more. I also dug a 5x9' section by the back wall of the garage and have started a compost dye---it's covered with enough plastic that i don't think the neighbours will have to pittapat their little suburban hearts too much. I also discovered odd patches of rhubarb, which i'm dying to dye with :}
Looking forward to learning more!; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Mickie McCormic on July 23, 2009 at 8:49pm: I did a lot of wool dyeing with every plant I could find, but that was many years ago, when I was a weaver. Lichens were my favorite. After hauling all my dyed wool all around the country for years, I ended up using it for dolls' hair, even the little test pieces, combining them to make hair with different shades of color. I taught surface design/silk screening for a long time, and then switched to mostly image transfer on fabric. Right now I'm getting ready to teach a surface design workshop again -- silk screen monotypes and inkjet transfer. But while getting ready for it, I got side-tracked into rust dyeing as well as low-immersion dyeing with commercial dyes. So the other day I threw some turmeric in, and was amazed. So then I tried applying it through a photo silk screen. The results are so bright, I'm surprised I haven't read anything about dyeing with turmeric.

I live in Southern Oregon and unfortunately have to have a day job, but do about 15 hours of art a week at least. My website is www.mickiemccormic.com if you want to look at the natural dyed yarn hair on some of my dolls. Glad to have found this resource while searching for rust dyeing, and I'm sure I will be comparing notes with people.

Mickie McCormic; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by kimberly baxter packwood on July 24, 2009 at 10:52am: Hi Mickie

I've never used Tumeric with rust! I will have to try this, how long ago did you use the tumeric and has it faded any yet? Sounds like you keep pretty busy in the studio How did you use the silk screen with the tumeric? Was the tumeric mixed with a binder first?

Kimberly

Mickie McCormic said:
I did a lot of wool dyeing with every plant I could find, but that was many years ago, when I was a weaver. Lichens were my favorite. After hauling all my dyed wool all around the country for years, I ended up using it for dolls' hair, even the little test pieces, combining them to make hair with different shades of color. I taught surface design/silk screening for a long time, and then switched to mostly image transfer on fabric. Right now I'm getting ready to teach a surface design workshop again -- silk screen monotypes and inkjet transfer. But while getting ready for it, I got side-tracked into rust dyeing as well as low-immersion dyeing with commercial dyes. So the other day I threw some turmeric in, and was amazed. So then I tried applying it through a photo silk screen. The results are so bright, I'm surprised I haven't read anything about dyeing with turmeric.

I live in Southern Oregon and unfortunately have to have a day job, but do about 15 hours of art a week at least. My website is www.mickiemccormic.com if you want to look at the natural dyed yarn hair on some of my dolls. Glad to have found this resource while searching for rust dyeing, and I'm sure I will be comparing notes with people.

Mickie McCormic; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by pam on July 26, 2009 at 4:34pm: Hi all,
I have not really introduced myself yet here, Im Pam from Cornwall UK.

Have enjoyed over the years dyeing with silk paints took a silk painting course, another course using Procion Dyes in which we stitches and wraped fabrics...and a day class using Dylon cold water fabric dyes. All the fabrics have been so useful over time for my embroidery projects.

I have to be honest I have no knowledge of dying with Natural dyes as with plants. But I have a wish to learn.

The colours seem to me so beautiful after looking at the photo's here. Also I like the idea of using what we have growing around us ( and we have so much here in Cornwall) lichen galore and all manner of natural plants.

I have learnt evaporated my own sea water to make salt crystals for using with silk paints, its so different in effects ( beautiful) to salt in the shops. With different composition to shop bought salt.
But Where do I begin with plants lol!!!!!!
Thanks for letting me join you all.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Tracy on September 10, 2009 at 3:36pm: Hi, I'm Tracy from Massachusetts. I picked up Rita Buchanan's book A Dyer's Garden last year on impulse and loved it. I started experimenting this summer, mostly with alum/wool -- I tried Mardi Gras coreopsis (turned out mustard yellow), purple basil (very light lavender), hardy hibiscus (light green -- sort of disappointing, as I was expecting a much darker color) and dyer's coreopsis (dark burnt orange, which turned reddish after I added a capful of ammonia).

It's really fun so far, and I'm looking forward to experimenting with more plants next year. Does anyone know a good source for dyer's plants, such as dyer's greenweed?

Thanks!; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by kimberly baxter packwood on September 10, 2009 at 7:20pm: Welcome to the group!

Maybe someone here knows of a place here in the states otherwise I do believe that Richters in Canada has quite a few dye plants. I'll have to see about planting the mardi gras coreopsis next year I love mustard colors.

Kimberly

Tracy said:
Hi, I'm Tracy from Massachusetts. I picked up Rita Buchanan's book A Dyer's Garden last year on impulse and loved it. I started experimenting this summer, mostly with alum/wool -- I tried Mardi Gras coreopsis (turned out mustard yellow), purple basil (very light lavender), hardy hibiscus (light green -- sort of disappointing, as I was expecting a much darker color) and dyer's coreopsis (dark burnt orange, which turned reddish after I added a capful of ammonia).

It's really fun so far, and I'm looking forward to experimenting with more plants next year. Does anyone know a good source for dyer's plants, such as dyer's greenweed?

Thanks!; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Arlene on October 4, 2009 at 11:23pm: Hi I am Arlene. I just found Kimberly's blog and after reading it for a bit I found my way here. I'm pretty new to natural dyes. Back in 2000 I started making handmade paper and used flowers and plant fibers to color the paper. Recently I started playing around dyeing fabric and cheese cloth to use in my mixed media art.

In the past month I have been experimenting using the solar dyeing method with just a couple of different plants that grow in my yard and onion skins. Oh I forgot I used onion skins with the handmade paper also. I've also used coffee and tea. I live in Florida so I should be able to solar dye for most of the year.

I've also started some indigo seeds and can't wait to be able to experiment dyeing with the plants.

I have also rolled a few rusty things up in muslin and paper so I guess I have done a little rust dyeing also. I am looking forward to being here. I'm very excited to have found my way here!

Arlene; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by kimberly baxter packwood on October 5, 2009 at 8:45am: Welcome Arlene! Can't wait to see what you've done with the rust, you'll have to keep us updated on your indigo I'm not sure how well it grows in Florida but I'm thinking it might get huge with all of the humidity there.

Kimberly

Arlene said:
Hi I am Arlene. I just found Kimberly's blog and after reading it for a bit I found my way here. I'm pretty new to natural dyes. Back in 2000 I started making handmade paper and used flowers and plant fibers to color the paper. Recently I started playing around dyeing fabric and cheese cloth to use in my mixed media art.

In the past month I have been experimenting using the solar dyeing method with just a couple of different plants that grow in my yard and onion skins. Oh I forgot I used onion skins with the handmade paper also. I've also used coffee and tea. I live in Florida so I should be able to solar dye for most of the year.

I've also started some indigo seeds and can't wait to be able to experiment dyeing with the plants.

I have also rolled a few rusty things up in muslin and paper so I guess I have done a little rust dyeing also. I am looking forward to being here. I'm very excited to have found my way here!

Arlene; ▶ Reply to This