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You may be surprised by the unlikely hues that result from these sources of natural dye.
Anne Merrow2 min read
I love soft cashmere, robust Romney locks, and silky kid mohair at least as much as the next spinner, but looking over the yarns and fibers in my stash, I have to admit that it’s color that seduces me most.
Red calls out to me—stops me in my tracks. Do you remember the first time you heard that cochineal—the source of brilliant reds for hundreds of years before the development of synthetic dyes—is made from bugs? In an era when we can use powdered drink mix to dye yarns fruity red, it’s hard to imagine gleaning shades of crimson only by coaxing it from crushed insects. (Legend has it that the red coats of Revolutionary-era British soldiers—the officers, at least—got their famous color from cochineal.) Even though dyeing with cochineal is an old process, there are still dyers who use it today, from modern dye studios in California to family weaving cooperatives in Oaxaca, Mexico.
Changing the pH of a cochineal dyebath creates a dramatic variation in the palette of colors. Photo on right is from the video Natural Dyeing with Dagmar Klos. Photos courtesy of Long Thread Media
It’s more of a rust than a scarlet, but the fermented juice of green, unripe persimmons creates a color that’s a bit shocking, too: Instead of fading in sunlight, the tannin-rich dyestuff known as kakishibu darkens and moves toward the sun, creating a deep pinkish brown where exposed to light.
The color in kakishibu (the fermented juice of unripe persimmons) only reaches its full bloom when exposed to sunlight. Photo at left by Stefano Ferrario from Pixabay; at right, courtesy of Long Thread Media
During an interview in her Oakland fabric and yarn shop, A Verb for Keeping Warm, Kristine Vejar said something that has changed the way I look at natural dyes. She pointed out that although green is the color most commonly associated with nature, it is one of the most difficult to achieve in natural dyes. Even deep green leaves typically create yellow or chartreuse. To make a true emerald green, she dyes fiber to a yellow color, then overdyes it with indigo.
In natural dyes, yellow and blue do make green. Photo at left courtesy of Devin Helmen; at right, courtesy of Anne Merrow
It’s more sage than emerald, but cotton (which we commonly think of as whiter than white) grows in green, mauve, brown, and nearly red.
Cotton sliver in a variety of colors is ready to spin. Photo courtesy of Devin Helmen
Whether you want to use natural colors in your work, grow colored cotton, support natural dyers, or marvel at the unexpected natural sources of color, check out the resources listed below.
Anne Merrow is Editorial Director and a co-founder of Long Thread Media.
Originally published November 3, 2015; updated September 22, 2023.
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