Good natural dyes?
Question:Can anyone suggest some natural dyes (e. beetroot? saffron?) that will colour cotton and, most importantly, hold their colour when washed?
Answers:
I guess it depends on what you are dying. If you are dying wool or wool. Kool aid works really well. Think of if you have ever spilled kool-aid on something how hard it is to get it out. You need to add vinegar to it to help it hold it's colour. It will work on cotton but not as well because of its acid level. Cotton needs dyes that are more alkaline. You need to experiment with it a little. The problem with natural dyes are that they don't hold colour well unless you add other things to them, but most of them are very caustic.
I mistakenly spilled juice on my new white shirt! I either had the choice of throwing it out or dye the same color as the juice! so i dyed the shirt the same color as the juice. try cranberry or grape they seem to stain best.
there is tea, coffee & onion skin-off the top of my head. after you boil the fabric in the dye & it cools-rinse it & soak it in a solution of white vinegar & water---this will 'set' the dye
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