Hello friends. From my series of “I made this” I want to share with you my first experience with botanical dyes. As small steps can make big changes, we must try to reduce the environmental impact and switch as much as possible on biodegradable materials.
Before synthetic dye was created, all colours were made out of flowers mostly and other natural sources. And to make a botanical dye is simpler than you think, as you can find the ingredients in your kitchen or garden at any time probably. So you can bring back life to your old garments and at the same time make something with your own hands and connect with the nature and yourself.
The materials you need if you want to follow this simple process are onions skins and dry roses, and/or curry, as in the picture. As for the piece of cloth, it’s best to choose a white or bright colour cotton or linen as synthetic materials just don’t hold onto the colour as well.
Boil the petals for 30 minutes to an hour, under boiling temperature, while at the same time have the clean clothes soaked in water for the same amount of time. For the curry, just add water and make sure it is all mixed well.
Make sure to wear some old clothes and gloves when working with the dye because it can really stain. Dip the cloth into the colour, leave it under the heat source for at least 1 hour, while stirring from time to time with the wooden spoon. Rinse them with cold water and then hang them out to dry, and they’re ready to use. It will get a few shades lighter though.
The rose water turned into a beautiful pinkish yellow, and to experiment I used an old top and tried to do an ombre that didn’t work out though.
For the kitchen towel, I used 2 rubber bands to do a sun in the middle and it turned out like this. It is already put to use.
And the “pièce de résistance”, this plain pale blue turned into this BEAUTIFUL yellowish shirt, although I kind of placed the rubber bands a bit weirdly. I recommend you stir well or it can get patchy as this one
Now to prevent the dye from fading away too fast, I recommend using a neutral PH laundry soap.
I had lots of fun again (except for the cleaning up the mess afterwards). I will dye so more, but with different ingredients to try to experiment more.
