Madder and madder

I had mastered weld yellows, indigo blues, and greens made from combining the two, but the red end of the spectrum was proving elusive. I'd managed pinks from roses, but depth of colour, it seemed, could only be achieved by madder, my namesake.

With the seedlings just showing their heads in the greenhouse but needing a good two years to develop the all-important root system, I decided to order in some plant dye powder again, this time from Wild Colours.

My package arrived and the process began. The incredible earthy smell struck me as I soaked the plant material. The colours leached quickly into the warm water and the aroma was divine. I felt like I was channelling Caris from Ken Follett's "World Without End" as she experimented with madder and developed her Kingsbridge red fabrics, which earned her fame and fortune in the story.

In less fictional texts, I had read that it is best to remove the first water as the orange tones tend to dissolve first. However, I was interested in the oranges, for they would help my quest for a naturally dyed fabric rainbow. As a result, I went straight in with my symplocus mordanted fabrics. I didn't even strain the powder as I had also read that this helps with achieving deep colours.

First out came the rich reds, lots of them, then the oranges followed, seemingly taking just as well on un-mordanted fabrics.

As they hung on the line drying, they looked fabulous, such hot colours flapping in the wind.

I had created my rainbow!

I also found that by giving them a hot wash, I could mellow the somewhat harsher tones. This produced some beautiful pinks... possibly more useful in my cushion designs.

However, when Christmas time comes, I now know what I need to do to recreate excellent reds - as if that time of year is not mad enough!