DIY: Make Natural Non Toxic Dye
This week I have been spending a good deal of time in the kitchen, cooking up natural dyes. I am actually surprised that after 7 years of art in college I had never learned to make paints, toxic or non toxic. But after reading Autumn’s post about how to make your own milk paint, I got to thinking even deeper into how to make pigments since the colored pigment can be as toxic as the binder. What I found out was a creative revelation that I can not stop cooking up! My personal criteria for creating pigment/dye is this:
- It cannot be toxic in any way, even if the substance is natural.
- It has to be in abundance and easily gathered in nature (don’t ever take so much that the plant can’t survive or make seeds.)
I totally hit the jack pot when I walked outside to find that my landlady next door has a plum tree with a gazillion plums that had already fallen to the ground and were being eaten by bugs, rotting, fermenting, gushy etc…
The natural organic dye experiment begins…
Supplies you’ll need to cook your brew:
- Water
- Salt or vinegar
- Cooking pot ( a spare that you don’t use for cooking food)
- Measure cup
- Strainer
- White, off white or light colored natural fabric (linen, organic cotton, wool and silk are best)
- Some sort of plant, flower, berry, root, bark, etc to dye with
- SALT FIX: 1/2 CUP SALT TO 8 CUPS COLD WATER
- VINEGAR FIX: 4 PARTS COLD WATER TO 1 PART VINEGAR
I strained out the skins and returned the dye to the pot and then start dipping the locally woven organic cotton into the plum dye! How freakin’ awesome, cause it started turning almost hot pink right away and stuck right to the fabric. Then I let the fabric simmer lightly in the dye for a richer color for about an hour, all steamy, hot and sooooo pretty! 
I allowed the fabric to sit in the dye overnight to make sure it had the darkest outcome possible since when it is rinsed and dried the color will be alot lighter.
Isn’t it pretty in pink ?!? (Almost as pretty as Molly Ringwald but I like my naturally dyed fabric even better then her prom dress!) All that from a couple discarded plums, Yay! It’s really easier then it looks and the whole process was totally relaxing and fun- not to mention I felt like I was part scientist, part witch! There are fantastic lists of natural stuff you can use for dye in just about every cool shade of color you can imagine. Go to Pioneer Thinking for a complete list of plants, berries, nuts and bark that can make a rainbow of fun, safe colors. For even more pigments a simple google search for “make your own natural dye” turns up plenty a colorful brew waiting for you to experiment with.
Have you ever tried a natural or non toxic dying process? What has been your experience?
That’s really awesome. Does anything work? Like watermelons or carrots?
Hey Nick!
I think anything is worth a try, but i would experiment with darker colors like carrots first before trying watermelon which might not give alot of pigment. We all know some veggies and fruits that totally stain, like beets and blackberries, so those are a sure bet for dye.
When I was in high school, I did a chemistry project on natural dyes, and their effectiveness on a variety of different fabrics. I wish I had a copy of it - it was really good.
turmeric (don’t need much), berries, beets. I wish I remembered what foodstuffs I used! Fun stuff!
I’m thinking of trying this with some natural wool yarn. Has anyone here dyed wool before? Wool yarn is so stinky when wet! However, I bet this makes it smells great. Oh geez. Can’t wait to try! Great idea Leslie!
Wait, before I get too too excited, first I have a question. Would your fabrics be washable after dyed, like if I wanted to felt something knitted with fruit-dyed wool? Does the dye set as if you were using Rit or Kool-Aid?
Still gonna try it. I might eat my yarn if I use blackberries or something
Great Tutorial Leslie! This should work with wool, but I think the vinegar would work better than salt with that. Someone correct me if I’m wrong
Anglea -I washed my fabric in cold water - which I read is what to do. I think hot water would probably fade it pretty quick depending on what natural substance you used. Something like orange clay/dirt would last more warm washes then the plum skin dye I used.
Autumn- I think you are right, or maybe experimenting with different batches of fix would be fun too- like a little salt and a little vinegar.
Naomi - Your highschool must have been way cool, and you were way cool in highschool - my highschool sucked, we could have been BFF !
Onion skins work great (yellow) and you can use Alum as your mordant.
Is an alum mordant toxic though? Does anyone know about those types of mordants?
I’m really liking this site, with all the great info here!
I remember my mother being upset with me once, when i had ripe chokecherries in my blouse pocket and crushed them climbing over a fence–she ended up embroidering a flower over to make it look deliberate :} Natural dye-ing by mistake lol.