{"id":499,"date":"2024-02-18T13:06:06","date_gmt":"2024-02-18T13:06:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pamgarnett.com\/?p=499"},"modified":"2024-08-29T16:13:05","modified_gmt":"2024-08-29T16:13:05","slug":"learning-to-dye-wool-with-marigolds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pamgarnett.com\/?p=499","title":{"rendered":"How to Naturally Dye Wool with Marigolds"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I often hear people bemoan the musky scent of marigolds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes when I\u2019m plucking a basketful of their dense, cheerful blooms I can almost understand. Every breath I take feels thick with their earthy perfume and I can feel every particle of pollen adhering to my nasal passages like iron filings to a magnet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I can\u2019t join the marigold haters club however, because not only have marigolds adorned many of my warm memories of youth, they\u2019re the first flower that I ever used to learn how to naturally dye wool.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Feeling deliciously witchy on a hot summer afternoon, I brewed that first vat of dyestuff from a basket of bedraggled blossoms. As I lowered a hank of handspun wool into the amber-colored water, the world of gardening opened up again, revealing another layer of this connection to plants that I have felt since I was a child. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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With every skill I learn, every book I read, and every new plant I meet, the excitement renews. I\u2019m a kid again, squatting in front of my mother\u2019s marigolds without a care in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I will never get tired of this, I think.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to Prepare and Dye Wool with Marigolds<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To dye wool with marigolds (or coreopsis, or dyer\u2019s chamomile- which I often blended together) you\u2019ll need at least <\/em>a pint of blooms. You can pluck them as they\u2019re passing their prime and either steep them into dye immediately or freeze them for later. I even had good results after leaving that first basket of flowers to languish on the porch for a day before steeping them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"wool<\/a>
Before the mordanting, washing wool with wool wash is a good idea to strip any remaining “grease” (lanolin) that could prevent the dye from adhering to the fiber. I used a few drops of dish soap here, but it’s better to use a soap made for wool like Unicorn Power Scour.<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Wool (as well as silk) are readied for dye in a process called mordanting. The word mordant comes from the Latin word \u201cmodere\u201d which means \u201cto bite\u201d. Essentially you\u2019re using a mordant to rough up the fibers and give them some \u201cbite\u201d to grab onto the pigment. An easy mordant to start with is alum combined with cream of tartar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some mordant examples (Measurements taken from The Weaver\u2019s Garden<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Using 4 gallons of water for each 1 pound of wool, choose one<\/em> of the following mordants<\/p>\n\n\n\n