A Rainbow of Naturally Dyed Fabrics

Like David Hockney, "I prefer living in colour."

There can be no denying that a pop of brilliant blue, daffodil yellow or lovely lime can brighten the darkest of days.

As I began exploring plant-based dyes, I set myself the challenge to create a naturally dyed fabric rainbow. Experimenting with mordants, modifiers and local plant material allowed me to create a vast array of beautiful fabrics, ranging from beiges, dusky pinks to pale yellows. Still, I was struggling to achieve a full spectrum of colour. The brilliant Flora Arbuthnott of Plants and Colour advised that a rainbow can be achieved using indigo, weld and madder. They give bold primary colours, and with over dying and modifying the colours, a full rainbow can be achieved.

So, I bought in the three precious plant products and began making my potions.

I wanted the process to be entirely natural, so I used symplocus mordant and oiled my fabrics with soya.

I brewed, I plunged, I simmered, and I quickly dipped the materials. I then over-dyed and modified. Low and behold...there was a rainbow.

A beautiful, bright, naturally dyed rainbow.

The fabrics dried and kept their depth of colour, but I knew that they had to wash and be colourfast for cushion making. I have to say, they did come out somewhat softer in colour when they emerged from the washing machine.

This was a good thing for me because my naturally dyed cushions are intentionally mellow. I want them to fit in, to blend, to feel comforting and homey. I would find harsh fabric colours hard to use. However, I am left wondering... if I did want some bold brilliance, what should I do differently?

How can you get naturally dyed brights that wash and last?

Maybe nature just does not intend for things to be that way; perhaps nature likes a bit of calm.