Gardens Galore: Today is a Good Day to Dye by Karen Brewka

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I've been dragged, kicking and screaming, into the 21st century. No more free TV – now I have satellite. I didn't think this would change my watching habits but it has. I seem to be a bit stuck on Animal Planet. Particularly the animal hoarding shows. YIKES! There's a fine line between two cats and eighteen!
What I like to collect and hoard is dyestuffs: plant parts that can be used to colour natural fibres and fabrics such as cotton, wool, silk, ramie, etc. One of my favourites is black hollyhock. As the flowers fall off the spikes, I pick them up and keep them in a basket to air dry. Once I have four or five handfuls, I wrap them up in a cotton square and immerse them in a big pot of boiling water, immediately turning the heat down to a simmer. It takes about ten to twenty minutes to extract a most lovely lilac colour.
After taking the bag of hollyhock flowers out of the dye pot, the dye water (liqueur) is ready to use. I'm usually dying silk that I've patterned using a Japanese resist technique called 'shibori' (tie-dye on steroids). I bend and fold and clamp the silk to create spaces where the dye can't penetrate.
After dipping the silk pieces into the liqueur many times (drying between dips), I can turn the silk to anywhere from pale lilac to deep purple. If I have to wait overnight for the silk pieces to dry, I decant the liqueur into a clean, plastic jug, screw on a top and refrigerate. I pour the liqueur back into the dye pot and warm it up when I'm ready to dip again.
Fixing the colour to the fibre or fabric requires dipping in a mordant. I usually use alum (available at the drugstore), 2 - 3 teaspoons dissolved in a large bowl of water. Metals like copper, iron, tin, etc. can be used as mordants and they change the lilac colour to bronze, purple black and other colours. After drying and unfolding the silk pieces, I then steam them to further set the dye. Steam ironing with a warm iron is the final step in the process.
Goldenrod, marigold flowers, yarrow, curled dock root and a host of other plants can be used to make dyes. These are all easy to pick, dry and store for later use. I have a bag of brazil wood sawdust that still, after many years, produces anything from deep orange to a vibrant reddish orange colour. Cloves, turmeric, red onion skins and even tea bags can be used as dyestuffs. A great reference is Wild Color by Jenny Dean (Watson-Guptill Publications, New York, 1999)
The Valley Neighbours Garden Club welcomes new members. For information call Bea at 403–933–7131. The Horticultural Club meets every second Tuesday of the month at 7:30pm. For information call Sheila at 403–931–3989.