Natural Dyeing: Ideas, Resources, and Inspiring Feeds to Follow
From Ancient Egypt to the modern world, natural dyeing is an enduring art that is deeply rooted in sustainability and our connection with nature. Whether you want to try your hand at dyeing with natural materials or just admire the works of some incredible textile artists, we’ve compiled some inspiring and informative resources.
Keep up with @rebeccadesnos, author of 4 books on plant dyeing, as she shares her materials and helpful process videos.
Let your craft become your cause with @maggie_pate, a slow textile artist and environmentalist based in the scenic Hudson Valley of New York.
Swoon over @botanicalinks instagram, curated by TEDx speaker and author Babs Behan where she shares everything from tutorials to gorgeous completed projects.
Photo credit: Kim Lightbody, from the book Botainical Inks published by Quadrille Books
Obsess over @wild_fire_water_ who features naturally dyed clothing and inspiring dye videos. Tour her Southern California natural dye garden where she grows many of her own dye flowers. Check out her monthly “how-to” workshops available through Patreon.
Daydream while scrolling through @edieure_’s feed. This designer and textile artist hosts retreats and workshops in Colorado where she teaches others how to dye with naturally foraged materials.
Sign up for @kathryn_davey’s monthly membership to access to a wealth of inspiration, resources and a like-minded community of dyers at every level.
Get inspired by @kaliko_co, a Berlin based textile studio sharing naturally dyed yarns, natural ink painting projects and offering plant dyeing starter kits for beginners.
Follow @katrinarodabaugh, the author of Make Thrift Mend and ambassador of slow fashion based in Hudson Valley as she shows you how to revive clothing by hand including online and in-person classes on natural dyeing, visible mending and more.
Browse @silkandwillow, a sustainable luxury textile brand, for the most beautiful natural dyed silk ribbons, table linens and more. Founder Shellie Pomeroy’s forthcoming book Natural Tables will soon be available for purchase.
Dip into modern nostalgia with Texas-based artist @goldenhourcolor’s quilting, sewing and natural dyeing projects. Her aesthetic favors quiet color palettes and simple design on natural cotton fabrics.
Reconnect with nature through @retritus’ Instagram account and get a first hand look at a First Nation fiber artist and workshop facilitator’s practice, materials and everyday views of the outdoors.
In addition to these gorgeous Instagram feeds, there are a number of books on the subject, many written by the artists above. These titles on natural dyeing are a great way to deep dive into the practice, art, and tradition of natural dyeing.
Botanical Inks
Botanical Inks is a guide to using food scraps and foraged plants to create dyes and inks. From the extraction process to showing you exactly how these sustainable hues appear on textiles, apparel and paper, Botanical Inks is a practical how-to that delves into various dyeing styles.
Whether you’re creating a tote bag or a wall tapestry, Babs Behan, the author and founder of the eponymous natural dye studio in Bristol, wants you to use natural dyeing as a way to reconnect with nature. This book not only teaches readers everything they need to know about how to try their hand at natural dyeing, but also promotes awareness of sustainable practices in general, and the impact they can have on the planet.
The Natural Colors Cookbook
Founder of Nade Studio, Maggie Pate champions the sustainable practice of using food waste and pantry staples to create gorgeous hues in her first book on the subject. For Pate being a natural dyer is synonymous with being an advocate for mother earth. She is a social and environmental advocate and with every purchase made on her website a donation is made to the organizations such as The Loveland Foundation, No Kid Hungry and World Wildlife Foundation.
Natural Dyeing
With eight projects to try, Natural Dyeing explores the versatility of plant-based dyes. From choosing and preparing your fabrics for dyeing to foraging for the plants used in your dyes to the different dyeing methods available.
Make Thrift Mend
Written by slow fashion influencer Katrina Rodabaugh, Make Thrift Mend focuses not only on natural dyeing, but patching, mending, and alterations that can help our clothes live longer. Make Thrift Mend is a follow up to Rodabaugh’s first book, Mending Matters, and contains essays alongside how-to’s - telling a story that encourages slow fashion and reminds us of the harm overconsumption has on the planet.
The Wild Dyer
Onions, avocados, nettles, birch bark, chamomile and acorns can all be used in natural dyeing to create unique gradients of various beautiful hues. It’s the specificity of the colors that come from select flora that is the focus of The Wild Dyer. Examining naturally dyed pieces as eco-conscious art while also focusing on foraging and fabric repurposing as a way to source materials, The Wild Dyer author Abigail Booth invites readers to become artists in their own right.
The book contains step by step instructions and photographs meant to be easy for people of all skill levels to follow. Booth has gained expertise through her work in the natural dyeing space, such as establishing Forest + Found, a London based studio collective whose participants work in painting, drawing and textiles.
Wild Colour
Practicality and inspiration are at the core of Wild Colour, which is now available in an updated and revised edition. Modern knowledge about the most environmentally friendly ways to dye naturally and images of over 250 different swatches of fabric dyed with a range of plants go a long way to illustrate the diversity of shades that can be extracted from many different species of wild flora.
The intended audience for Wild Colour are eco-conscious DIYers, and author Jenny Dean knows that audience well. She’s worked with natural dyes for decades and writes extensively on the subject, constantly sharing as she learns through practice.
Botanical Colour at your Fingertips
Botanical Colour at Your Fingertips, available as an ebook and paperback, guides readers through the process of natural dyeing with wild plants, garden herbs, kitchen waste, and produce.
Producing long lasting colors on plant based fabrics like cotton, bamboo, and linen, and pre-treating fabrics with soy milk are just a few aspects of natural dyeing that this book has to offer. UK based dyer and writer Rebecca Desnos shares expertise gained through practice for readers at all levels of their natural dyeing journey.
The Modern Natural Dyer
Research and dyeing at her studio A Verb for Keeping Warm led author Kristine Vejar to publish The Modern Dyer, a guide to using thousands of natural materials (from plants to bugs) to produce vibrant color. User friendly is the name of the game, and Vejar doesn’t shy away from convenience in the methods that she teaches through the book.
The Modern Natural Dyer not only provides a how-to and a guide to what to use, but also comes complete with 20 different home and wardrobe focused projects to let readers hit the ground running.
Hand Dyed
Hand Dyed focuses specifically on indigo dyeing, a unique type of natural dyeing with deep roots in various cultures and plenty of modern interest. Focusing on how to make patterned pieces and richly colored pieces, Hand Dyed shows readers just how accessible fashionable and sustainable creation with indigo dye can be. Whether you’re looking to make and naturally dye a bathrobe, a hammock, or a duvet, this book has something for you.
Author Anna Joyce is an online and in person teacher of often sold out workshops and her work is sold independently through Etsy as well as through various retailers.
Natural Color
It’s easy to bring more Natural Color into your home with this wonderful book. Using gorgeous photos, Sasha Duerr shares the color creations of many flowers, herbs, trees and fruits, all organized by season. For novice dyers, Duerr's easy to follow ingredient lists, and detailed instructions on techniques such as dip dye, shibori and block printing provide much inspiration. Included are recipes to dye clothing, table cloths, napkins, even rugs!
