Dyeing with Grass

One of the joys of summer is riding around on the lawnmower, smelling the newly cut grass.  Like spinning, it requires just enough of my mind to help focus without having to dwell on what I am  doing. Sort of meditative... My thoughts wander; I get sidetracked watching something happening in nature that I might miss if I was moving faster. Sun, warmth, vibrant colors, pleasant smells, all making for a good (if noisy, unfortunately) and necessary commune with nature.

This year, things are a little different. My mowers are all broken so, the neighbor has agreed to mow until they are repaired. I was sitting on the patio visiting with his two young children, watching the mowing progress when Nathan and Brittany spied the old wheel barrow and decided to pick up the cut grass. I was thinking it could go into the compost when I noticed a dye pot drying in the patio...

I had the kids fill the pot about 2/3 full of the fresh grass clippings. I then covered the grata with water and soaked it overnight. The next day I boiled it for a few hours, adding water as needed. I steeped it over night and strained it off the next day. I was hoping for something like the color of grass stains. I heated the pot again the next morning and checked the color as it 'cooked'. I was getting a sort of khaki green that kept darkening. Finally, I decided it was ready so I cooled the pot and strained off the liquid.

The wool that I added was spun into two ply and mordanted with alum. I added a cup of vinegar to the dye bath, hoping to brighten the color a bit. I simmered the wool for about an hour, till the color was deep enough. I then let it steep to cool and drained and washed the wool.

The color that resulted was not green at all! It was a very beautiful. Clear, yellow-gold. I am very pleased with the results.

Here is a picture showing the difference between the yellows. L to R: dandelion, rhubarb, leafy spurge, grass.

Rhubarb With a Twist of Vinegar

Last year I posted about how wonderful rhubarb is for dyeing. Not only does it not require pre-mordanting the wool (the leaves contain oxalic acid which is itself a mordant), but it is easy to work with, fun to eat and makes a great tea!

Last year I boiled leaves and some stems and got this:

 

I made a lovely scarf! (See posts from 6-5-13 and 6-20-13).

This year I did things slightly differently and got quite different results. I started with about 40 sticks of rhubarb. I cut off the root ends (I didn't dig the roots) and leaf ends of the stems. I used these for tea and baking. I put the ends and leaves in water. I tore the leaves up before adding them. I covered these with water and boiled them for a little more than an hour. I steeped them over night and boiled them again the next morning and let them sit in the pot. The next day (day three) I strained off the liquid. I soaked 600 yards of freshly spun wool yarn in water for about half an hour and then added it to the dye pot. I simmered that for an hour and a half and turned off the heat and steeped it over night.  The next morning (day four) I added about a half a cup of vinegar to the pot. I let this sit again over night and then removed the yarn on day five. I washed it in wool wash and rinsed it until clear. Instead of the lovely off white tan from last year, I got something much more yellows-green!

Here is a photo showing both:

Another Run at Leafy Spurge

I had such wonderful results with leafy spurge last year that I decided to try it again this year. Here in West Central Minnesota, leafy spurge can be found in ditches. It is best to get away from farm fields because farmers have worked to obliterate this weed. It is considered a noxious weed here due to its ability to thrive and spread. It can still be found growing in clumps in grasses along the roadside. Leafy spurge come into flower just as the first flush of dandelions is going to seed.

This year I picked the whole plant. I then chopped the stalks into five inch pieces. I covered this with water in a large kettle. I boiled this for an hour and then shut the heat off and left it on the stove over night. The next morning I boiled the pot again for an hour and shut off the heat. This time I cooled the pot until it was very cool and the strained off the liquid. I pre-mordanted the wool yarn in alum. I then added it to the leafy spurge bath. I brought this to a good simmer for an hour and then let it steep until it was cool. I washed the newly-dyed yarn is wool wash and rinsed it until clear. Below are the stunning results.