MATERIALS To prepare fabric for dyeing, wash fabric very

well in the laundry as usual.

Cutting board
Dry completely in dryer.
Vegetables or plants (we used beets, spinach,
tumeric and red cabbage) Use rubber bands to create a pattern on your
shirt (or other cotton item such as socks, bag,
Knife
onesie, etc.).
Water
Pinch, pleat or fold fabric to make design.
Cheesecloth
Once you're satisfied with your design, treat
Strainer fabric with a fixative/mordant.

Large bowl or measuring cup Mix 1 cup of salt with 16 cups of water and
bring to a boil (or ½ cup of salt with 8 cups of
Salt water).
Condiment bottles Simmer your fabric in this solution for one hour
Funnel prior to dyeing.

White t-shirt or other dyeable material
Rubber bands
Baking sheet with rack
STEPS
To make the dye: Wearing gloves, chop up raw
ingredients and place in a blender using a ratio
of two cups of very hot (almost boiling) water to
every two cups of raw material.
If using a spice, such as turmeric, add one to
two tablespoons of spice to every two cups of
hot water.
(If you are making a plant/veggie based dye,
mix 1 part vinegar to 4 parts water and follow
the same process).
When done simmering, run under cool water.
Wring out a bit of the excess water.
To dye fabric: Wearing gloves, squirt dyes
directly onto the fabric. (Tip: Plan to put
adjacent primary colors (red, yellow, blue) or
secondary colors like orange, green, and purple
next to each other; in the areas where they run
together, they will blend together and create a
third color.)

(other materials I used included red cabbage
(purple); beets (pink/red); spinach/parsley
(green).
Blend mixture until it becomes a very fine
slurry.
When done blending, strain mixture through a
cheesecloth lined strainer.
Dissolve 1 tablespoon of table salt in the liquid.
Decant into condiment bottles with a small
funnel.
Keep paper towels handy so dye doesn’t puddle
or seep into an area where you plan to place
another color. (Tip: The shirt could be placed on
a baking rack when applying dye so it runs
through; just be sure to place an old tray or
newspapers under it.)
Once adequately dyed, place fabric into plastic
bag and seal.
Heat in microwave for 2 minutes on high on bed
of paper towels or plate.
Take bag out of microwave and allow to cool
completely overnight.
Once rested, rinse under cool water.
Remove or cut rubber bands and hang to air dry
completely
Then to further heat set the dye, run the item
through the drier on high for about an hour.
Launder only by hand in a very mild detergent.
Native Plant Dyes
Samples of differently dyed yarns.
Plants have been used for natural dyeing since
before recorded history. The staining properties
of plants were noted by humans and have been
used to obtain and retain these colors from
plants throughout history. Native plants and
their resultant dyes have been used to enhance
people's lives through decoration of animal
skins, fabrics, crafts, hair, and even their bodies.
Types of Dyes
Natural dye materials that produce durable,
strong colors and do not require the addition of
other substances to obtain the desired outcome
are called substantive or direct dyes. Sumac
(Rhus spp.) and walnut (Juglans spp.) are native
plant examples of direct dyes. Because these
species are high in tannic acid, they do not
require additional substances to be added for
the dye to attach to fibers and form a durable
bond. Dyes that need this type of assistance are
called adjective or mordant dyes.
Mordants
Mordants are water-soluble chemicals, usually
metallic salts, which create a bond between dye
and fiber thus increasing the adherence of
various dyes to the item being dyed. The actual
color one gets from a natural dye depends not
only on the source of the dye but also on the
mordant, and the item being dyed.
Most mordant recipes also call for the addition
of cream of tartar or tartaric acid. Use of this
readily available spice is important because it
reduces fiber stiffness that can occur because of
mordanting. It can also increase brightness.
Table 1. - Mordants most commonly used with
natural dyes.
Mordant Effect
Alum Brightens the colors obtained from a
dye source
Iron/Coppers Darkens/saddens hues,
produces blacks, brown, gray
Copper vitriol Improves likelihood of
obtaining a green hue
Tin Produces bright colors especially
yellows, oranges, reds
ChromeHighly toxic – should not be used for Table 2. - The 10 plants used most commonly by
dyeing at home Native Americans for dyes and the number of
uses (Moerman, D. Native American
Plants Used for Dyes
Ethnobotany. 1988).
Throughout the world, evidence of natural
PLANT Number of Uses
dyeing in many ancient cultures has been
discovered. Textile fragments dyed red from Mountain Alder 53
roots of an old world species of madder (Rubia
Red Alder 21
tinctoria) have been found in Pakistan, dating
around 2500 BC. Similar dyed fabrics were Bloodroot 20
found in the tombs of Egypt.
Rubber rabbitbrush 16

Smooth sumac 16
Finely woven Hopi wicker plaques and dyed
rabbitbrush and sumac stems. Finely woven Canaigre dock 14
Hopi wicker plaques made from rabbitbrush Eastern cottonwood 13
and sumac stems colored with native and
commercial dyes. Photo by Teresa Prendusi. Black walnut 12

Skunkbrush sumac 11

Southwestern style rug. Mordants can be used Butternut 9

to increase color intensity such as in this Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis).Bloodroot
Southwestern–style rug. Photo by Teresa (Sanguinaria canadensis). Photo by Dave
Prendusi. Moore.

Tyrean purple dye was discovered in 1500 B.C.
and was produced from the glandular
secretions of a number of mollusk species.
This purple dye was extremely expensive to
produce as it required nearly 12,000 mollusks to
produce 3.5 ounces of dye.
Tyrean purple became the color of royalty.
Lichens were used to produce ochril, a purple
dye, which was called the “poor person’s
purple”.
Native North American Plants Used for Dyes
Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis)
Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) was used to
produce red dyes. Green dyes were made from
algae and yellow dyes were made from lichens.
Early colonists discovered that colors produced
by the Native Americans quickly faded, thus
suggesting that mordants may not have been
used.
Mountain alder (Alnus incana). Mountain alder
(Alnus incana).

European settlers in North America learned

from Native Americans to use native plants to Mountain alder (Alnus incana)
produce various colored dyes (see Table 2).
This small, riparian tree has been used by many
native tribes to make a brown, red-brown, or
orange-red dye to darken hides, stain bark used
in basketry and dye porcupine quills. Inner bark
was used to make yellow dye. Outer bark was
used to make a flaming red hair dye. Some
tribes mixed this species with grindstone dust
or black earth to make a black dye. Bark was
used to wash and restore the brown color to old
moccasins.
In the western United States, various layers of
red alder bark, Alnus rubra, yield red, red-
brown, brown, orange, and yellow dyes. These
colors have been used to stain baskets, hides,
moccasins, hair, quills, fishnets, canoes, cloth,
and other items.
Smooth sumac (Rhus glabra). Smooth sumac
(Rhus glabra), an important dye plant, with fall
colors.
Smooth sumac (Rhus glabra)
This deciduous shrub is a widely distributed
throughout most of the contiguous United
States. It is readily recognized by its thicket-
forming habit, milky sap, compound leaves, and
dense, terminal panicles of bright red drupes. A
variety of dye colors can be obtained from
different parts of the plant depending on the
mordant used.
The leaves are rich in tannin and can be used as
a direct dye. Leaves can be collected as they fall
in the autumn and used as a brown dye. The
twigs and root are also rich in tannin. A black
and a red dye can be obtained from the fruit. A
black dye is obtained from the leaves, bark, and
roots. An orange or yellow dye is obtained from
the roots harvested in spring. A light yellow dye
is obtained from the pulp of the stems.
Butternut (Juglans cinerea) images, including its
bark, unripe nuts, fruit, compound leaf, and
stem tip. Butternut (Juglans cinerea)
Butternut (Juglans cinerea)
This tree native to the eastern United States
was important as a food and dye source. Native
Americans used the bark to make a brown dye
and young roots to make a black dye. Using an
iron mordant, brown dye can be changed to a
charcoal or gray color.
The famous gray coats that the Confederate
Army wore during the Civil War were colored
with dye made from butternuts.
Confederate soldiers were called “butternuts”
because of their dyed uniforms.
Rubus
The genus Rubus belongs to the rose family.
Common names include raspberry, blackberry,
blackcap, and thimbleberry. Varieties of
blackberry include dewberry, boysenberry, and
loganberry. This group consists of erect, arching
or trailing, deciduous and evergreen shrubs
found wild in Europe, North America, and Asia.
These berries are actually aggregate fruits,
which means they are composed of individual
drupelets, held together by almost invisible
hairs. Some berry canes may be armed with
formidable spines and make great security
hedges, while others may be nearly spineless.
All parts of the blackberry plant (berries, leaves,
canes) yield dye colors.
 Prairie Parsley (yellow, brown)

Rubus species. Rubus species are important for Slippery Elm (brown, green, yellow)
food, medicine, and dyes. Photo by Marry Ellen
Black Willow (black, green, orange, yellow)
(Mel) Harte © Forestryimages.org.
Purple / Blue Dyes Indian blanket (black,
green, yellow)
Table 3. - Common names of North American
Hairy coneflower (brown, green, yellow, black)
native plants that can be used for dyes. (Note:
Most plants can produce more than one color. Red Mulberry (brown, yellow, green)
Additional colors produced by a specific plant
are included in parentheses. The part of the Mountain alder (brown, red, orange)
plant needed to produce the desired dye color Summer Grape (orange, yellow, black)
is not included. In addition, mordants and
processes needed to use successfully the Black Locust (black, green, yellow, brown)
natural dyes are not included.) Green Dyes Butterfly milkweed (yellow)
Dye Color Plant Common Name Texas Paintbrush (green, red, yellow)
(Additional Colors)
Basket flower (yellow)
Yellow Dyes Yarrow (green, black)
Sagebrush (yellow, gray)
Honey Locust
Stinging nettle
Golden wild-indigo (green)
Goldenrod (yellow, brown)
Tall cinquefoil (black, green, orange, red)
Gray Dyes Iris (black)
Pecan (brown)
Butternut (brown)
Indiangrass (brown, green)
Canaigre Dock (yellow, green, brown)
Orange Dyes Western comandra (brown,
yellow) Brown Dyes Prickly poppy (green, orange,
yellow)
Prairie Bluets (brown, yellow)
Texas Paintbrush (green, red, yellow)
Bloodroot (brown, yellow)
Elderberry (yellow)
Sassafras (black, green, purple, yellow)
Downy Phlox (brown, green, yellow)
Eastern Cottonwood (black, brown, yellow)
Black Dyes Northern Catalpa (brown,
Plains Coreopsis (black, green, yellow, brown) yellow)
Red Dyes Ozark chinkapin (black, yellow, Sumac (yellow, red, green, brown)
brown)
May-apple (brown, yellow)
Sumac (yellow, green, brown, black)
Sand Evening Primrose (green, orange, red,
Chokecherry yellow)
Did You Know?

The tissues of canaigre dock (Rumex

hymenosepalus) - a southwest desert native
plant used to make yellow, gray or green dye,
and widely noted for its medicinal, edible, and
social uses - contain toxic oxalate. The
needlelike crystals produce pain and edema
when touched by lips, tongue or skin.

Eastern cottonwood used to make a variety of

dyes was a sign to early pioneers that they were
near water. Ribbons of cottonwoods were
found across the prairie where underground
watercourses were located.

Prior to chemical synthesis of indigo dye, blue

jeans and cotton were dyed with a blue dye
derived from tropical indigo bush, native to
India. Mayo indigo, from the Sonoran desert
was used for blue dye for thousands of years.

Rubber rabbitbrush, a western native, can be

used to create both green and yellow dyes. The
bark produces green dye while flowers produce
yellow dye.

Not only is stinging nettle edible, it can be used

to create a green dye. Stinging nettle can cause
severe skin irritation, but is useful for dyes,
fiber, and food.