Natural Dying for the Soul

I wanted to try Natural dying for three reasons. One, I have always battled with the idea that producing colourful clothing often comes with a massive price, water pollution. This is something I think many people often overlook when buying the latest colour trend matching outfit. In my dissertation I researched into this, looking at the damages chemical dying does to both water supplies, and the people who work with them. I was shocked at how few clothes even stated the types of dyes used to colour them. This is something I have always battled with. As a designer who loves to use colour in fashion, how can I do so in a better way? Initially I looked into bacteria dyeing. Unfortunately that is something I cannot do at this stage. So natural dying done by myself seemed like the next best way to be in control of that colour process.

Secondly, I think it fits well with my collection, I grew up surrounded by nature, so it makes sense to include that as part of my work. Thirdly, I found the dying process a good release in this stressful Covid 19 epidemic.

I started by researching all the possible ways to use food waste and plants to dye fabrics, and what fabrics worked the best. I knew I wanted to use silk and cotton for my collection so I set to work experimenting.To begin with I used salt and vinegar as mordants, however this caused the dyes to fade quickly and not come out as bright.

These samples were done with red cabbage, adding baking soda or lime juice to alter the PH and the colour.

After more research I decided to use alum to help the fabrics retain the dye after being washed. I wanted them to fade overtime, not after the first wash.

The colours took really well once I switched to an Alum mordant, above you can see Purples and blues made from: red cabbage mixed with backing powder and matcha powder, blueberries, blackberries, Yellows made from: orange peels, turmeric and matcha. Browns made from coffee grounds and instant coffee.

Finding Green

The hardest part of the natural dying process was achieving a bright green which I saw as essential for my collection. I tried out many different methods and will continue to try new ways in the future.

Initially I tried Spinach, and fresh cut grass, however I found that the colour did not take well and when left to simmer, the colours turned very brown, There was also a grainy appearance from the grass as it left behind tiny pieces of grass.

I was feeling very disheartened until a friend of mine mentioned that chlorophyll is the green pigment in plants and I could extract it with ethanol. I am yet to try this myself but I did some research into this and found a semi synthetic dye called Chlorophyllin which worked perfectly.

I think this will work for now but I intend to carry on the research after my Final Project.

From here I started to dye bigger pieces of cotton and silk to see if I could get even colours. This is still something I am struggling with but to be honest I rather like the natural prints created by uneven dyes.

I am so happy with the outcome and can't wait to use it for my final pieces as well as keep experimenting in the future. This process was really enjoyable and I'd recommend everyone tries to dye their own fabrics with natural resources I found it really relaxing seeing all the colours form and create unique patterns. Feel free to contact me to see your own dyeing journey I'd love to see it!