Eco Friendly Natural Dyes for Fabrics to Enhance the Wardrobe

The days of Woodstock may be over but the love for tie and dye clothes is still around. Making your own is easy and fun to do, and with a little research, the right utensils and natural dyes a colorful shirt that looks like it's from the 60's might soon be hanging in your own closet.

Greening the wardrobe

Natural dyes for fabrics have been used for a long time by the early settlers and before. A little experimentation with different nuts, roots, flowers, vegetables and fruits might bring about some satisfied original results. Before the earth friendly natural dye bath, fixatives are needed for different types of fabrics and they also aid in holding the color. For a white t- shirt that will be colored with a berry dye, pre-soak in a salt water solution for a color fixative. Use one-half cup of salt to eight cups of water. For natural plant dyes use a fixative of one part apple cider vinegar to two parts of cold water. Add the t-shirt and simmer for one hour. Rinse in cool water and the shirt is ready for the color process.

Designs in tie and dye

For some interesting and artistic designs tie simple knots in the garment or tie in grains, marbles, small stones or beads. Try sewing some long basting stitches of dental floss into the shirt and then pull the stitching into a gathered line or even crumple the garment into a ball and tie it together before the dye process. This twisting of the fabric or knotting works to help create a design.

When is the color right?

Place the t-shirt in the dye and simmer until the desired color is reached. Remember that the color will be lighter when dry.

Making a natural, eco-friendly, and safe dye

Chop the plant material into small pieces and add double the amount of water. Bring to a boil and simmer for an hour. For a deeper color soak the garment overnight. Some experimentation with different materials will be fun. For shades of orange try sassyfras leaves, onion, carrot or turmeric. Red might be easy with beet juice. Try red raspberries or strawberries for a pink t-shirt or red cabbage or elderberries for a purple. Spinach or grass should produce a green shade. For browns try a little coffee or tea. Any fabric might be worth a try - but tested ones that hold color well are natural fibers like: cotton, silk, wool and muslin.

Holding the natural color

Rinse the dyed t-shirt in cold water to help set the color and keep it from fading. Natural and earth friendly dyes are available and just waiting to be turned into works of art, whether in our clothes or home decor and they help to keep the planet green.

Sources:

http://www.pioneerthinking.com/naturaldyes.html
http://imnh.isu.edu/digitalatlas/teach/lsnplns/cthdyelp.htm
http://diyfashion.about.com/od/diyfashionfaq/f/KoolAidDye.htm
http://www.panjokutch.com/Handicraft/tie&dye.htm