![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis29Qy4w_buAE8YkZngfa8hMLoD47HoGlpyvKwrr6v4k3uyhLsnHpmOM28-MbA5MKGNsk-VZ773tbQ4gV5OCjEyuh7gGyoyntD_DW0tiPH_F1XxvKEw9isys0FZ_3jsw0Da4qEen8y4sE/s400/Basket+of+forget+me+nots+%2528836%2529.jpg) |
Basket of Forget-Me-Nots |
Having
had some success with my rhubarb leaf dyeing, and more limited success with dandelions, I decided to have a go
with forget-me-nots as this is another plant that we had in abundance in our allotment...
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8H7yJEv2Hykk4dy7q9tn3WpOUDxpWJXn6yI9RYBeQrGql8tfIMvemNnjkN3YlH3lFUHnJDGtWdc5sJc44WYNFvt1UiRltxTbfr-8sTwk0AwFtA-fHIWpC4XHQEEri2HO6_tXwOJAFQSg/s320/Allotment+forget+me+nots+%2528830%2529.jpg) |
Forget-Me-Nots in the Allotment |
Having gathered them, I pulled the flowers off and added them to the dye pan. I
had a little more weight in forget-me-not flowers than in fabric but not a
lot and certainly not twice the weight of fabric in forget-me-nots which would have been ideal....
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6vT_uY4Cn2WoB4nGsdgQ2OWqVHQmtyyTyYfdXv-M3lOsIw0f9LzygO0zWrgTJBV_EPvpCXlmYsItGhMwJQsp9_48an9CsGg1jzuoevCMi3x6ZaIatXADVqEOyG8SfvCn51Tu8PNZBasE/s320/Dye+pan+%2528600%2529.jpg) |
Forget-Me-Not Flower Heads in the Dye Pan |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbAOk2mRzx8S4v96qjv1Y2zW7g-DysvmgeuE0V-F2eICsHYfR1tJcdkUzoQrOBeK1yrk7WyH9_5quh9NFFmtdDS8AmSMWLzEOLDX0IVePwf6DzWGKP3tbEqR_CLE_mUqpYu862Vkx2Xmo/s320/in+the+pan+%2528511%2529.jpg) |
Dye Pan Flower Detail |
The fabrics I chose to dye were some wool yarn, wool blanket and cotton calico. They
were soaked overnight in soy milk which I had read acted as a mordant
for cotton fibres. A
mordant is a dye fixative. It helps bind the dye to a fabric to make
it more colourfast and can affect the resulting colour. For example,
mordants may intensify the dye colour. Alum was recommended for wool but I didn't have any
of that so I soaked them all in the soy milk (1 part soy milk to 4 parts water). I could only get light
soy milk. I don't think this worked as well as ordinary soy milk would have. I dried the fabric before putting it in the dye bath.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2u9_znGcjWalhgxha_IZE02IRFrqIuJCz_7NwT1GX4QXfyYg3f3793JECMKdNTH-1ZxGw0JLRnreL3s6-Ja4F0exopz_V-pAEH6t-wVeq8ua4zIKFY1JasPgDAXM_dveVyIeOlyZcwiQ/s320/Fabric+to+dye+%2528320%2529.jpg) |
Fabric to Dye |
To
make the dyebath, I covered the forget-me-nots with water and simmered them
for an hour and then removed the plant matter by straining.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghle9oX-TnRookZPbfikglLmbFDATthvWSXv7P4AtbhbvIq8rWTQw_XEjwssc0mLIzYhmDO2NcBx6vf6igO1Ib3blBXs-7DaM8hbU8hUi03LC3KpVN8bOE_V3A88TERQr9AvXMIfJGsmk/s320/Forget+me+nots+after+straining+%2528315%2529.jpg) |
Sieve of Plant Material to be Discarded |
The
remaining liquid formed the dyebath to which I added the dry
fabric. My pan was aluminium as this was all I had. Ideally you would
use a non reactive pan made out of stainless steel. I simmered the
dyebath for about an hour, during which I added a few rusty nails as
nothing much seemed to be happening. I thought this might help as you
can use iron as a mordant too. The recipe for an iron based mordant
involves soaking some iron objects in 2 parts water to one part vinegar
solution for a couple of weeks until it goes a rusty orange colour so
this intervention was unlikely to have a great effect.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipYEnYszl0Y-gaQMMSLsKm2pqHFsTJqlOw4XVGyvAfagemxv1aVpcl6WToylNxBYolnUkCbdkbBvv0rMxJc3m2gNuh_S9p4XM7edCTqutn2rHwFZLNXJLLnDzaMBvGnEqRdESoENNWpmM/s320/On+the+stove+%2528346%2529.jpg) |
Dye Bath & Fabric |
I left the dyebath to cool overnight...
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO7KFJu3zWm3Z95IN_k0033004svuSzC9Bxomp-CHcY-a2dDdB88jcscEo9n4BM-xBIjAG97RXQlALwBa4AqMghchJAuyLf23mh0x_klS6B7DWAzqCdRInYwepounNXgusBhg4EVkHQU0/s320/After+leaving+overnight+%2528340-1%2529.jpg) |
Dye Bath After Cooling Overnight |
The
following day I rinsed out the materials, washed them and hung them up
to dry. Here are the results together with a little sample of the
original fabric to show the colour change...
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIYjxCpBvjz4wZeeFomODR9jG4kWcF4g74kdXgfxYsWeIwUn3NDiPvQWbhrMjXpVGClsb-HO2gehkiFO_BxpYzOESgueUP5fI8h5BOYaPBjqzi-XVF8cfywnLM7pcUMmQslzeSAkICLLI/s320/Before+and+after+neater+%2528422-01%2529.jpg) |
Before and After Dyeing Results |
I was hoping for a blue colour and when the dye pan started heating up the water was very green so I thought a greeny colour might be a possibility. However, the outcome was very similar to that of the dandelion dyeing which frankly, was a little disappointing. I may have overheated the
dyebath which resulted in a more neutral colour than expected. I would
also probably have got a better result if I'd been more careful with the
mordanting process and used more forget-me-not heads.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDb9ivltQsqbmoYZjIoft7xxD3Cv6agze3qQoSl0kBEagmWYT1u86AKj-CYI1ASjiYnMaZkFnBaH8EM4z3uPuu1AUtd7gA4gBr9T41RKEd5iq2L6ux9T3ZYtQQj5Ht72XHPFnrQLu6SMM/s320/After+with+ball++%2528504-+5%2529.jpg) |
Forget-Me-Not Dyed Items |
The forget-me-not yarn and blanket were slightly paler in colour than the dandelion dyed pieces and the calico was very similar in colour bit a slightly different shade...
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC-KotB57EgY3mkeTHuVaUUda01Dwbo6Hkdns0-5dEJ_2klCfmWqspYJaObGmiexyaJn8vyLrRba0n8UiKBmRRwczamRYwVoTwXns07DptZF7rv6XgEM3brFj4WSNzJBoxGukqkFKzV7o/s320/Comparison+of+yarn+balls+%2528417%2529.jpg) |
Wool Yarn |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWS3w3dw3il22z1LUleZUbzFwfKkvrWqe9UGAq7qaDukpRFGR3_MGw4fqSP2oX7g5R_o7gC0skzdv3thOvL8Fm1PQuDP6jOy5RaafeYNDNYnSqDxJ8vSS4yErnu8Cp2ZXJ5K7sKcDgYMA/s320/Blanket+comparison+%252823-2%2529.jpg) |
Wool Blanket |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw4HiO6JzUaIPUwq6Ju12UqbdhqmcQvFEKoc8eSC7_znuYCq3o7vJzaslxqBkq2nh2Hf1iYkbSV6FhkuNadSddlNZlaT8ITCw2NrnFdqZk-Xn5HbrBoX9rSyOigIrmrsC0tM6XACFEGNU/s320/Calico+comparison+%2528217%2529.jpg) |
Calico |
Not sure yet what I shall use the fabric and yarn for but interesting to experiment. Why not have a go with some of your abundant plants?
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