Natural dyes for hose?

[James MacMillan]

Lately I've been experimenting with natural dyes for some of my off-white (cream colored) hose. I noticed that the off-white colors are easier to find so, I have more of them. But I also don't wear them that often.

I tried the Ritt dyes, and they work ok, but it's really messy. So I then tried tea and coffee, with pretty nice results.

Has anybody experimented with and other natural dyes?

[McMurdo]

Never tried it but I'd love to see a picture or two

[James MacMillan]

Never tried it but I'd love to see a picture or two

Flix don't really show much. I just soaked a couple of pair in strong tea, and another couple of pair in strong coffee. Both batches came out a nice oatmeal color. I've washed them several times in the normal cold water wash, and I don't see any fading. Somebody said I should put vinigar in with the coffee or tea, so I'll try that next. Coffee and tea give a nice shade, but I was wondering if there are other natural solutions to try. Beets come to mind, but I don't think I could use that color much.

I wonder what would give a blue or green color?

[Paul Henry]

it's been a while since I did any natural dying, but by usin different mordants you can achieve different colours form the same initial dye.
Onion skins work well, roots of various plants, eg. Alkanet.Acorns work well for grey or black but you need a little ferrous sulphate to help.
it's work playing, sadly not all the colours with be completely light fast, but it's fun to try.
the downside can be that the dyestuffs can help to shorten the life of the substrate.

[James MacMillan]

it's been a while since I did any natural dying, but by usin different mordants you can achieve different colours form the same initial dye.
Onion skins work well, roots of various plants, eg. Alkanet.Acorns work well for grey or black but you need a little ferrous sulphate to help.
it's work playing, sadly not all the colours with be completely light fast, but it's fun to try.
the downside can be that the dyestuffs can help to shorten the life of the substrate.

Ooooooooo new words! Mordant? A quick google shows that is is the substance that sets dyes. ie tannic acid, alum, chrome alum, sodium chloride, and certain salts of aluminum, chromium, copper, iron, iodine, potassium, sodium, and tin.

I'm not sure where I would easily find that stuff around the house. I guess for now, the coffee and tea will have to suffice. Google did show the root of our plant badge dandylion as a source of magenta.

[Woodsheal]

Got any black walnut or butternut trees in your area? The nut hulls from either will yield nice shades of brown. No mordant needed....

[Cage]

Interesting. Never tried anything like this.
I wonder if fruits would work (ie: blueberries or rasberries).
It seems that sometime back I seen plaques for some Indian dyes (like a shadow box).

edited note: It seems I remember sage being in one of the shadow boxes...been so long though I can't remember.

[pipesndrumsnun]

Yes! Blueberries should work...the native Americans were fond of using them for a beautiful, deep blue/indigo color (I remember reading this when I was a kid). I wonder if the natural dyes wash out, though? Hmm...

[pipesndrumsnun]

By the way, even though Ritt was messy, did you like the result? A friend suggested that we should dye our stark white piper's hose to go with our new band clothes. Even though I loathe white hose, I've been a bit hesitant to take her up on the suggestion. I've just imagined hideous results and don't want to ruin some perfectly good (but bright white) hose.

[haukehaien]

This page looks like it might be useful - lots of info on natural dyes broken down by color. It does have some info on using berries to make dye as well ...