Herbs of the Month for February - Natural Dyes From Herbs

      I guess with all of the snow we are getting in New England, I can just imagine how it might of been during the colonial days, when all you could do is stay inside.  With this, I thought of posting something different.
      Even though we use herbs for cooking, medicinal purposes, to freshen up any room, to help keep the inside and well as outside of the body healthy and to make all sorts of beverages, did you know that you can make your own wonderful dyes as well?
     Different parts of the plant - flowers, leaves and roots may create colors of reds, yellows, browns, grays, greens and blues.  Creating your own dyes using skeins of wool and be an enriching experience.  From gathering the plants, simmering them in a enamel pot so that they will release their hues, moving the skeins gently thru the colored water and drying the skeins to finish off the process.  Definitely a labor of LOVE.
      When collecting the plant material, harvest them when the plant is at its peak.  Gather the flowers when they are just about in full bloom, berries when they are ripe.  Harvest roots in the fall and leaves in the spring.  You can also harvest bark in the spring as well or in the fall.  Remember that the amount of color depends on the environment conditions and the season they are harvested.  Someone who uses plants harvested along the coast in New England will produce different colors from the same species of plants that are harvested in the mountains of Virginia.
     As a rule, start off using 8 quarts of plant material to dye a pound of yarn.  When using nut hulls, wood, bark or berries, use 1 pound and with roots, use 1/2 pound.  For each pound of wool, cotton or linen, use 4 to 4 1/2 gallons of soft water to prepare the dye bath.
     So if you want to add to your herb garden this year, look to see if there are any that you would like to plant for dyeing purposes.  Here is a list to choose from.

Blacks: alder, black walnut, yarrow

Blues: elder, elecampane, indigo, Oregon grape

Browns: burdock, comfrey, fennel, geranium, hops, juniper, madder, onion, pokeweed

Golds: agrimony, amaranth, dock, goldenrod, lavender cotton, mullein, onion, plantain, safflower, yarrow

Grays: elder, raspberry, sunflower, yarrow

Greens: agrimony, angelica, barberry, bayberry, betony, coltsfoot, comfrey, dock, fennel, foxglove, goldenrod, horsetail, marjoram, mullein, rosemary, sage, tansy, uva-ursi, yarrow

Oranges: blootroot, pokeweed, sorrel

Purples: blackberry, geranium, grape, lady's bedstraw

Reds: dandelion, dock, hops, lady's bedstraw, madder, pokeweed, St. John's wort, sweet woodruff

Rusts: pokeweed, safflower

Tans: barberry, onion, Oregon grape, raspberry, sunflower, sweet woodruff, uva-ursi

Yellows: agrimony, barberry, broom, chamomile, dandelion, dock, fennel, goldenrod, horseradish, lady's bedstraw, onion, safflower, sage, St. John's wort, sunflower, tansy, yarrow


Check out http://www.herbcompanion.com/Projects/Culinary-Herb-Goes-Dye-Crazy.aspx for addition information.

Enjoy and stay warm.