Do you want to make your own dye that is safe to use?
Today, let us explore how you can make natural dyes at home.
Let us understand the basic difference:
Natural Dyes – Dyes that are made from natural substances such as herbs, leaves, flowers, insects or animals.
Synthetic Dyes – Dyes that are made by combining two or more chemicals.
For this activity, lets concentrate on natural dye making.
Natural dyes can be used in dyeing fabrics, dyeing eggs, or can even be used as paints to make your next canvas.
Tip: To make long-lasting colors from natural dyes – you need to add a fixative. You can choose to use vinegar or salt as a fixative based on the dye that you are making. Dyes made without addition of fixative may lose their colors soon.
Natural Dye Making
Pink Dye from Beet
Materials
- 2 cups of grated red beet
- Vinegar (2 tablespoons)
- Salt (1 tablespoon)
- Water as needed.
Process
Grate the red beet as needed.
You can choose to blend it to make pulpy juice or just add required water and start boiling it.
Add 2 tablespoons of salt and vinegar.
Simmer the solution for 30 mins.
Use a mesh strainer to filter the solution.
The remaining liquid is your natural dye – You can get light pink to red color based on the beet and amount of water.
Yellow Dye from Turmeric
Materials
3 tablespoons of turmeric powder or 2 cups of grated fresh ground turmeric
2 tablespoons of salt
2 tablespoons of vinegar
Water as needed.
Process
Add the vinegar, salt to the turmeric, and mix it with water.
Bring the mixture to boil.
Simmer the mixture for 30 minutes.
Remove the mixture from stove and let it cool to room temperature.
Filter the mixture using a strainer.
The final liquid after filtration is your yellow dye.
Green Dye from Spinach
Materials
5 cups of chopped spinach (you can also use coriander leaves)
2 tablespoons of salt
2 tablespoons of vinegar
½ tablespoon of turmeric powder
Process
Create a mixture by adding chopped spinach, salt, vinegar, turmeric and water in a bowl.
Bring the mixture to a boil.
Simmer the mixture for 30 minutes.
Strain the mixture using a strainer.
The remaining liquid is your green dye.
Purple / Blue Dye from Purple Cabbage
Materials
3 to 5 cups of grated purple cabbage
2 tablespoons of salt
2 tablespoons of vinegar
Water as required.
Process
Create a mixture using grated purple cabbage, salt, water and vinegar in a bowl.
Bring the mixture to a boil.
Simmer the mixture for 30 minutes.
Strain the mixture using a mesh strainer.
The remaining liquid is your purple/blue dye made from cabbage.
Orange / Brown dye from Onion Peels
Materials
3 cups of onion skins
2 tablespoons of salt
2 tablespoons of vinegar
4 cups of water
Process
Create a mixture using onion skins, water, salt, and vinegar in a bowl.
Bring the mixture to a boil.
Simmer the mixture for 30 minutes.
Strain the mixture using a strainer.
The remaining liquid is your dark orange/brown dye.
Light Orange Dye from Orange Peels
Materials
2 – 3 cups of orange peels
2 tablespoons of salt
4 Cups of water
Process
Create a mixture using orange peels, water and salt in a bowl.
Bring the mixture to a boil.
Simmer the mixture for 30 minutes.
Remove the mixture from stove and bring it to room temperature.
Strain the mixture using a strainer.
The remaining liquid is your orange dye made from orange peels.
Here are some ideas on How you can use these natural dyes
Dyeing Paper
Dyeing Eggs
Dyeing Fabrics
Use it as Paint / watercolor.
How to Dye Fabrics using Natural Dyes
Materials
White Cotton Fabric (You can choose to dye a white t-shirt or pair of white socks)
Rubber bands
Natural Dye (any of the above dye)
Bowl & droppers
Process
Use rubber bands to wrap the fabric (t-shirt or socks) in different ways.
Dip the fabric in the natural dye selected.
Remove the excess dye in sink.
Place the fabric on a bowl or tray.
Use droppers or spoon to add more natural dye to the fabric to make it more colorful.
Once you complete the dyeing process – let the fabric sit for couple of hours. You can even let the fabric sit in the dye for overnight to bring in vibrant colors.
Rise the dyed fabric in water to remove any excess dye from the fabric. The water should run clear when rinsed. Repeat rinsing until you get clear water.
Now remove the rubber bands to see the design patters that you created.
Use Natural Dye as Paint for your drawing
Materials
Natural Dyes
Paper for drawing
Mixing utensil
Paint Brush
Process
Store the naturally made dyes to different bowls.
You can choose to add flour or egg white to the natural dyes to make it thick. If you are using flour – heat the mixture until the mixture is smooth.
Tada! You can now use this paint to start drawing your canvas.
What are some Best Dyeing Plants?
Bloodroot
Dahlia
Sind Sunflower
Lady’s Bedstraw
Sunflower
African Marigold
Bronze Fennel
Basil ‘Red Rubin’
Chicory
Dyer’s Chamomile
Goldenrod
St-Johns-Wort
Tansy
Yarrow
Dyer’s Broom
Cosmos ‘Sunny Red’
Dyer’s Coreopsis
Blanket flower
In addition – you can also use Woad or Indigo. Indigo is traditionally used to bring in the beautiful blue color for fabric.
