In honor of National Blueberry Month (oh what the internets teach me) I was inspired to learn how to dye fabric naturally. Now, Threadbanger has already done an episode on how to dye jeans using coffee grounds but there are lots of other natural dyes out there too. Here are some tips and instructions to help you start experimenting with your own pigments.

Pioneer Thinking has this great page, detailing not only how to dye fabrics, but listing the variety of materials you could use to achieve different colors. Like blueberries giving you a blue shade, or more surprising, dandelion roots turn fabrics a red shade. Here are their instructions for dye making:

To Make the Dye Solution
Chop plant material into small pieces and place in a pot. Double the amount of water to plant material. Bring to a boil, then simmer for about an hour. Strain, Now you can add your fabric to be dyed. For a stronger shade, allow material to soak in the dye overnight.

Getting the Fabric ready for the Dye Bath
You will have to soak the fabric in a color fixative before the dye process. This will make the color set in the fabric.

Color Fixatives
Salt Fixative (for berry dyes) 1/2 cup salt to 8 cups cold water
Plant Fixatives (for plant dyes) 4 parts cold water to 1 part vinegar
Add fabric to the fixative and simmer for an hour. Rinse the material and squeeze out excess. Rinse in cool water until water runs clear.

Dye Bath
Place wet fabric in dye bath. Simmer together until desired color is obtained. The color of the fabric will be lighter when its dry. Also note that all dyed fabric should be laundered in cold water and separately.
Muslin, silk, cotton and wool work best for natural dyes and the lighter the fabric in color, the better. White or pastel colors work the best.

Or wanna watch another how-to? Check out this one from Etsy



Pioneer Thinking does remind us that when picking any ingredients for dying in the wild, don't gather more than 2/3 from a plant. Leave enough so it can grow more beautiful colors next year.