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You're welcome!

That's a great suggestion! I rarely do iron or machine dry dyed textiles, but I have ironed some of my eco-printed fabrics with the hopes that the process would help the color stay. It actually does seem to help. I should do that more. Thanks for watching and commenting!

I have unintentionally done that as well: "cure" the fabric with avocado pit dye and some others, and I've thought about what you mentioned about staining. I do think there's something to that, and I should experiment more in that area. Now, I've been struggling to get my dried and powdered hibiscus to work on fabric the way the fresh flowers work, but I need to try just using dried petals. I really like working with hibiscus! Thanks for this comment. I'm going to be thinking more about what you've said.

@@gizzyandthelizzy that's very sweet! Thank you so much! 😊 And thanks for watching.

Those are fibers I don't work with, but it seems like Epsom salt functions similarly to alum powder when used as a mordant. I know people use alum for wool and silk. So, I think it would work.

We do! I see it in people's yards and growing in other places as well. I'll see about getting my hands on some and trying it out.

@@plantdyefortextiles That would be amazing to watch. I will try it too. I have read it gives a green, but who knows.

Thank you so very much!

Thank you! That's very kind. They enjoy it so much. 😊

Tin??? This is toxic....😡

@@fanthazara It was 1982. I'm sure it wouldn't be used now.

@@karenramstedt4614 ohhh, ok🤔👍

​@@karenramstedt4614 Ahhh...82. My year of birth! I'm always telling my girls how things were different "in my day" and before. 😊Thanks for sharing that information. I've worked with tin only once, and I was adding it to turmeric dye. If I recall correctly, the dye turned an interesting pinkish-orange color. This was done with no heat. Actually, most of my experiments with different mordants were done with turmeric. I really liked the outcomes.

@@plantdyefortextiles I was only 23, and I thought I was an oooooold student. Isn't perception a funny thing.

😉

cute! 😉

I'd be happy to edit that About section for you. 😉😉😉

@plantdyefortextiles You don't have to do anything for me, that you don't want to Darling. 😏💕

@@CloudSpirals Thanks for the confirmation. You be well, now.

Awww! That's so great to read. I'm happy to represent for us in that way! 😁

That sounds wonderful, and you're very welcome! ☺ After I read your comment I saw someone doing that very thing with bubbles in a reel on Instagram! It was possibly the same video you saw. It was being described as a "classic" bubble activity, but I don't recall ever hearing about it before your comment. But We're definitely going to try it.

@@robinm7599 there are several options available for it on Etsy. That's where I first saw it for sale 2 years ago before I decided to make it. I just did a search, and saw at least 5 vendors selling it.

@@anthonygustavoflodungcisne2799 you're very welcome!

@@malathiepahathkumbura1298 you're welcome!

Thank you so much! I"m glad you've found inspiration here. The loss was the primary catalyst for my work in plant dyes as a hobby, and I'm always happy to know that it helps others as well.

You're welcome! Thanks for checking out some of my older work. ☺

Yes, I do think that's the key! The next time I try it, I want to squeeze as much water/"juice" from as many flowers as I can, and I want to see what happens if I do that directly into the white flour mixture without even using additional water for making dye. Doing it that way will likely weare me out and not be the most efficient use of flowers, though. So, I was thinking also to try using even less water. Thanks for sharing about the work of the Hopi people. It's amazing the colors have lasted so long. That really speaks to the powers of natural dyes!

I left the other comment, went off to do something, and then it hit me: one of my intended uses for the powdered dye is to use it to make paint! I had completely forgotten (poor memory has been one of the consistent effects of grief, but it's always getting better.) After making this paint video, I was inspired to go ahead and make powder, something I'd been considering for a while, primarily to see how it would do in paint. With it being more concentrated (like the spirulina and turmeric powders), I think it will work well. Interesting how that slipped my mind. I probably would have eventually remembered, but your comment brought it back up for me, so thank you!

@@plantdyefortextiles oh no worries dear & honestly they could have added other steps to the processing too I just remembered that 1 fact it's been probably 25 years since I read that somewhere. Believe me I understand how the memory & the brain in general works when experiencing True Loss & Grief. It can turn you into a completely other person, but as I said I do pray that the Lord is working on healing your heart & that you find happiness in the joy & laughter of your children until you find your own true joy again. We take the small moments when & where we can find them. 🙏 😊 🌹

Thank you for those kind words regarding our loss. I really appreciate it. ❤ And yes! Just today I started working on a part 2 video on this topic, and I poured boiling water over one of the powders and boiled the others in water. My favorite mode of dyeing textiles is in the sun, but since we've been getting mostly rain lately, I figured it would be best to boil/add boiling water first then let the dye and fabric rest out in the sun--when it does peep through the clouds. Some of the dyes will work faster than the others. I look forward to sharing the results soon. Thanks for checking out the videos!

Thank you so much for sharing. I am sad for your loss. You are so courageous. Stay blessed, sweet soul!💚💐🙏🏼

@@malathiepahathkumbura1298 Thank you very much!!

Yes, it was outside, uncovered in a stainless steel bowl for at least 2 months. This is mostly due to neglect, as I just never got back around to dealing with it. It just sat there gathering rain and whatever else. I walked past it daily telling myself I needed to do something with it. It didn't go bad likely due to being open and receiving air and direct heat from the sun over time. Whenever I leave turmeric in a jar with a lid on, it will definitely go bad after several days. In terms of the long soak, I like to get as much color absorbed into the fabric as possible. I can tell when It reaches the point where it's reached its full potential in terms of color absorption. Soaking it for a long time doesn't influence permanency in my experience, especially when it comes to turmeric. It will eventually fade regardless!

@@plantdyefortextiles thank you for your answer!

@@myriambressani7019 you're very welcome!

I do appreciate the compliment with which you ended your remark. Regarding the other matters, it is all fine from my perspective, the one that matters most. I work outside with plants and soil constantly. I am also a hygienic mammal with hair. Also a full-grown adult, with children, not a child myself. I'm happy, healthy, and free. All is well with my soul. I hope the same for you. Merci beaucoup. :)

@@plantdyefortextiles ❤

Yes! I really need to do a full-length video on this topic. Here's a short from a year ago related to my own high-energy toddler: czcams.com/video/eJjkvPLhDnI/video.html Thanks for your comment! I'll definitely work on a video. My children are consistently involved, and it would be fun to show that!

Thanks for such a good question! Initially, I was using one specific book as a resource to learn plants around me that can be used for making natural dye. Over time-with the understandings gained from that book- my approach became more based on experience and intuition as I explored extracting natural color from plants the book doesn't mention. So for instance, when looking at a flower, I know that those that have a light pastel color like lavender or yellow will not give me color that translates well to cellulose fibers, which is all I use. The dye will be even lighter than the petals and will just barely show up on the fabric, especially once it dries after being dyed. But if I see boldly colored flowers, it’s almost a guarantee that they’ll produce nice color on textile, and it might be a color or colors completely different from the color of the petals. For instance, we discovered that pink azaleas-when pounded on fabric-will produce 3 or 4 different colors, and none are pink. Same with red hibiscus. In terms of leaves, I’ll see a bush covered in leaves of some sort, and maybe one or two of the leaves are showing a color other than green. And it’s not that they’re dead or dying leaves, but there will just be a patch of a contrasting color on a seemingly healthy leaf. Out of curiosity, I’ll get a few of the leaves, boil them, and end up with a dye the same color that I saw on the leaves. It’s almost like a clue. Many, many leaves will just give off the same light green dye when boiled, but there are others that are also green but make orange, burgundy, and even blue dye. I haven’t done a whole lot with roots, but right now I’m curious about some red coconut roots out in my garden still left over from a coconut palm we dug up a few years ago. I’m also curious about the roots of purple sweet potatoes I’m growing. Sometimes I take a very simplistic approach: if the potato is purple, maybe the roots will make purple dye! Same with tree bark. A lot of it is really just trial and error, but with more experience, I understand more and more about plants and what they can do in terms of color production. This is so long, but hopefully it’s helpful! I’ll be glad to clarify more if needed.

@@plantdyefortextiles thank you for this detailed response! It’s very helpful to hear your thought process and what you’ve intuited from experience, it’s inspiring me to take a closer look at the plant life around me too!

@@diasporicsol You're very welcome, and that's great! There are so many possibilities when it comes to plants, for sure.

@@plantdyefortextiles what was the name of the book, if you don’t mind?

@@diasporicsol it's called Hawai'i Dye Plants and Dye Recipes by Val Frieling Krohn-Ching. It's pretty specific to the plants where we live, but I think it's useful for tropical places in general. It's been such a useful resource for me over the past few years.

You're welcome!

You're welcome! I hope to do a follow-up video when I have more success making dark purple dye.

I really like this combination. Thanks!

@@tinnaz1 I haven't tried either and hadn't heard of cucumber skins producing black. I'm definitely willing to try that! Also never heard of lamp black until researching it just now. I've got charcoal powder, but it seems to be different from that. I'll look more into it. Thanks!

I forgot to comment about salt. From what I've read and experimented with, table salt can be used to help the dye particles transfer from the dye bath to the fabric, yet it doesn't function as a means of fixing the dye to the fabric. I've put it in dye here and there with no results of it helping the fabric hold color, but I'm actually currently doing an intentional experiment with this process to better understand how it works as an aide for natural dyes.

@@plantdyefortextiles Thank you for your kind replies. I have very little experience with these things actually. I ran across the black dye options while doing some research a few years ago. I have boiled cucumber skin and it did produce a nice dark color which was surprising. When I heard about lamp black I had to look into it. I realized I had washed it off my pots and pans for years. The best results were from camping or cooking outdoors on a fire pit. Lately, I've been watching how to gather and process fibers. It's all very interesting!

@@tinnaz1 oh, that info. gives me a bit more insight into lamp black. I'm sure I've encountered many times! The dark color from cucumber skin is so intriguing. I probably wouldn't have considered that. All of this and the seemingly endless possibilities is definitely very interesting! And you're very welcome. :)

Thanks for the question! Salt can be used but it does not help dye permanently bond to the fabric. It's useful for pulling the dye out of the dye bath and onto the fabric. The most common mordant is alum (aluminum potassium sulfate). It can be used to help the dye bind to the fabric and not just superficially stick to it like salt. You can also use aluminum acetate. I posted a video on how to make it: czcams.com/video/Nju4mQy3MvM/video.htmlsi=uRS7A3y0h_ezR0H8. If you're dyeing cellulose fibers like cotton or linen, an even better process is to first soak the fabric in a tannin solution before applying the mordant. I've found that this can help form an even better bond.

The turmeric will fade over time, and given my experience with other berries, the blackberry die probably will, too. But if used gently and not exposed to the sun too much, it should have decent longevity!

My pleasure. 🙂

This is something I've avoided but will give it a try!

Yes! My girls (there are 3 of them) love it! Making dye from plants in the yard is now part of their regular play. I love that!

Very interesting! Thank you for sharing the info. Currently researching this, since I'm definitely someone who would try it!

Oh, wow! That's so cool and unexpected! Thanks for letting me know. I'll be prepared to answer any questions that might come up.☺

You're welcome! It would be so nice if they did last longer. But I will just keep dyeing them over and over if needed! ☺

You're welcome!

With natural dyes like this one, it's best to use cellulose fabrics (cotton, linen, bamboo, etc) or protein (silk, wool). With synthetic fabrics like polyester, the dye won't penetrate. Now, if you mean woven or knit, then either works. I've used both with success.

Yeah, that one turned you nicely!

I don't generally scour fabric ( although I did just post a video about it czcams.com/video/tlUsMItlVOk/video.htmlsi=fhxwVb177al3BmvC). In adding the mordant to the dye bath, I was mostly trying to change the color. I figured the tannins in the dye itself would be sufficient to make the dye "take". But as I was watching this playback, I was thinking about trying one of the scoured pieces to see if the color uptake would be better. Thanks for the suggestion!

@@plantdyefortextilesIf you don't scour, the chemicals and oils which have been added to the fabric will prevent a lot of colour uptake. For cellulose fibres (cotton, linen) you really need both tannin + mordant. Look forward to seeing more of your results, especially with mango. I found some of the younger leaves gave a green colour.

Yeah, it's definitely something I should do more of. Many of the fabrics I use are old, rustic scrap pieces that usually absorb dye pretty well. However, you've inspired me to scour some t-shirts I recently got from the thrift store. I'll scour them and redo the mango dye with one of them to show a comparison. Thanks!

Thank you!

Thanks for watching/giving feedback!

Thanks for your comment! I made a video a while back about aluminum acetate (if that's what you're referring to: czcams.com/video/Nju4mQy3MvM/video.html .) I've definitely found it to be more effective when I do decide to use mordant--which honestly isn't all the time for my experimentations with color. Alum is talked about so heavily in most books and a lot of videos, and I've read only one or two remarks in my research that AA + tannin is a better combo for cellulose. I just researched and learned about aluminum triformate. Very interesting.

You can use alum for cellulose like cotton and paper ...its fine. I literally soent the day doing plant dyes with alum modenting some and iron oxide on others ....and no mordant..... the alum ones were slightly darker than the non mordented ones and the iron oxide the darkest but it sure did something. Aluminum will adhere to cellulose just fine. Why do you think it doesnt work?

@@serendipidus8482 Although I've had better results combining alum or aluminum acetate and tannin, I have also personally experienced good results with alum only. In my readings I've seen this mentioned about alum a few times, and it's been stated that, when used alone, alum isn't the *best* option for cellulose fibers in terms of color retention over time (something I'm not always concerned with in my experimentation). . But it'll work ro some extent, for sure. I like your approach of trying various methods. That'll give you some good info.

@@serendipidus8482because it is well known that alum (Pas) is meant for protein fibers.

@@plantdyefortextiles yes time will tell. I have some really nice vibrant colours all very earthy.. im going to get some more tannin rich things I have walnut shells bit ive no way to crush them. Im trying to get a dark blacky brown. Somone said elder bark but ive got a few jars of various mixtures vinegar and magnesium and iron and plain and old bark and new bark and its not doing anything except a vague khaki. Any idea for a good dark blacky brown or even greyish black? Thanks! We really need to keep all this alive!

I really wasn't expecting this color!

Thank you so much for watching!