Rhubarb : It's a Good Day to Dye!

I decided to brave the mosquitoes the other day and went out to the garden to pick another arm load of rhubarb. I made more tea with  the stems and decided to try the leaves for dying. I tore
up enough leaves to fill my dye pot (that is 12 inches in diameter) about three inches full. I added enough water to cover and brought it to a boil. I reduced the heat and simmered the mix for an hour. I let that mixture cool and steep for about 24 hours.

The next day was dying day. I decides to dye three skeins of white wool I had spun with some of my roving. I had already washed the yarn. the skeins were about 110 yards each and weighed just over 3 oz. together. I placed the skeins in hot tap water to get them completely wet. I didn't mordant this yarn because rhubarb leaves have a lot of Oxalic Acid in them. This acts as a mordant for dying, and can be used as such with different dyestuffs. It also means that the rhubarb leaves are poisonous for humans so care must be taken. Any pots, utensils, and other equipment used for dying must not be used for cooking. If you don't have any old pots and things around, try looking at a second hand store. If you are using enamel coated pots, like an old water bath canner, be sure it has no chips or the metal could leach into your dye bath. This will affect the colors you end up with.  Also, it is necessary to wear rubber gloves to avoid contact with the dye bath.

I heated the dye bath to a temperature equal to the water the yarn was soaking in. I added the yarn to the dye bath.  In this photo you can see a tiny bit of blue yarn. I use that to identify the yardage. It is necessary to tie the yarn with a small piece of yarn in at least three places (I use four) to avoid tangles during the dying process. I mark my skeins with different color yarn pieces to keep track of the yardage when the skeins are wet.


I simmered the yarn in the dye bath for about an hour and a half. I removed the whole pot from the stove and let the yarn steep for about 24-30 hours. I removed the yarn. Squeezed out the remaining liquid and washed it in hot water with Eucalan wool wash. I dried it in the sun on the clothes line

I decided to make myself a scarf with my yarn. I found this pattern by Elizabeth Morrison. It is not difficult and works up fast. I think it is a good choice for this yarn.  The link below will take you to the pattern PDF.

Mead Scarf Pattern

Rhubarb-Eat, Drink and Dye!

One  thing we have a lot of this time of the is rhubarb. I am constantly on the lookout for new ways to use it. Each year I try new recipies for cake, cookies, crisps and crumbles as well as tea. This year I am going to try dyeing some of my newly spun wool with the rhubarb  leaves as well.  I spent some time looking through my books on natural dyeing. I found several discussions on using rhubarb root as a dyestuff. Using the dried root will produce some nice shades of yellow, depending on other variables in the process such as the water used, what the dye pot is made of, amount of dyestuff used, to name a few. It is very important to keep good records if you want to be able to repeat the process with similar results. This is true for any kind of dyeing and especially true for using natural dyes. I have decided I am not ready to dig up my rhubarb plants at this time so I will have to wait to try that. I do, however, have an abundance of rhubarb leaves. Rhubarb leaves contain oxalic acid. Oxalic acid is poisonous to humans so care is needed. Oxalic acid can be used as a mordant for dyeing fiber, especially animal fiber.  When rhubarb leaves are the color agent there is no need to mordant the yarn first.  The method I am going to use is chopping the leaves and simmering them is water and letting them stand over night. Then I will strain the liquid and use that for dyeing my wool. I will be posting more specific directions and pictures of the results soon.

In the meantime, here are a couple of this year's recipies for using the stems:

Rhubarb Tea.                                                                                         
8 stalks of rhubarb                                8 cups of water
orange or lemon peel                            Sugar to taste
A few sprigs of mint (I especially like Mojito Mint for this)



Cut the rhubarb into three inch pieces. Add the water and citrus peel. Simmer for one hour. Remove from heat and let cool. Strain the liquid. Add sugar to taste. Serve over ice with a sprig of mint. Very refreshing!

Rhubarb Cake
1 1/4 C white sugar                              1tsp baking soda
1/2tsp salt.                                            2 C white flour
2 eggs, beaten.                                     1 C sour cream
3C diced rhubarb
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9x13 baking dish.
In a large bowl combine 11/4 C of sugar, baking soda, salt, and two cups flour.
Stir in eggs and sour cream until smooth. Fold the rhubarb into this mixture.

In a small bowl, combine 1cup sugar, 1/3 cup butter (softened) and stir til smooth.
Add 1/4 cup flour, 1/3 cup nuts (optional), and 1/2 tsp. cinnamon.
Sprinkle over cake.
Bake for about 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Cool, serve with ice cream.