Wow Colors! Natural Plant Fabric Dyeing

October 11, 2022

Wringing out naturally dyed fabric. Natural plant dye from marigold flowers and hyacinth bean vine seed pods.

Choosing the Plants

Eco-dying and printing is a passion of mine, so it seemed an easy step to try dyeing fabric with plants. I began doing some research, both on Pinterest and Google. I found several resources, ‘ate up’ the information, and was determined to begin experimenting.

I had two plants in my gardens that I decided to start with, marigold flowers and my new hyacinth bean vine. The vine had been recommended by a local nursery and as it grew, it became a monster plant! It flourished on my trellis where I normally grew morning glories. The purple flowers of the hyacinth bean vine grew out on tendrils, searching to attach to something. Then as the flowers fell off, deep maroon seed pods grew in their place. I was so intrigued with my new plant, I started to read about it, and learned that the seed pods were boiled and eaten like green beans. So…….

Making the Dye Bath

So, I gathered my marigold flowers and seed pods. In turn, I placed the flowers/pods in my dyeing pot, covered them with water, and simmered for about an hour. After 24 hours, I strained the plant material out, added more water, and simmered the flowers/pods again to draw out more dye. In the meantime…….

Preparing the Fabric

Two weeks prior to making the dye bath, I washed the fabric, soaked it in soy milk, and let the fabric bond with the protein from the soy milk for those two weeks.

Dyeing the Fabric

Finally, the dyeing began! The dyeing pot came out again to simmer the fabric in the dye water for about an hour, twice, with a cooling phase in-between. The video above began the day after the dyeing. The longer each phase is the darker the color becomes.

Phew! It is a long process!

But it’s not over yet. In two weeks I’ll use a mild detergent to wash out any extra dye, leaving the final color. Most inforrmation I’ve read says the color lasts and doesn’t fade.

Now what should I do with this dyed fabric? Got any ideas? Please share below. I’d love to hear your thoughts and ideas.

Have an enthralling day!