Dying Material Without Coloring Box

By

PIKKA

Since you have use of a computer, there is a wealth of information on natural dying on web. I worked for
aurorasilk.com for a year and they have wonderful tutorials on line for the basics of natural dying. They use mostly the more exotic imported dyes because ordinary dyestuff can be found anywhere, but the principles are the same.

You will need a mordant to dissolve in water and soak the material in. Alum and tannic acid are common mordants and are done by dry weight of fabric.Type of fabric determines
what kind of mordant as well as shade desired. Alum is most commonly used on wool. You cannot dye most synthetics, exceptions being rayon and I think nylon takes some dyes, though box dyes would probably work best on nylon. Don't even bother trying to dye polyester.

By londa (Guest Post)

There are several natural dyes you can make from walnut huls, ripe & green. Or onion skins. But why not buy a ready made dye? They are cheap, and easy to use.