Getting Dye From Plants
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Fall is a wonderful time to get dye from plants. In the fall season, my favorite dye to make is a dark brown that comes from walnut hulls. But on my most recent adventures, I was able to find burn weed. This “weed” was used to treat illnesses including:
- dysentery
- eczema
- diarrhea
- hemorrhoids
- poison ivy
- poison sumac
Burn Weed Was Used To make Blue Dye
In addition to having a ton of medicinal uses, burnweed was used to make blue dye. AI claims burnweed wasn’t used to make blue dye. But once you do further research, you’ll learn it was used.
I attempted to make this blue dye in a YouTube video. However, my efforts were unsuccessful because I was unable to find out how much burnweed and water should be used. In addition, I didn’t do a good job of getting the temperature settings right.
According to what little information I was able to find, you are supposed to:
- Simmer burnweed plant (including stalks and leaves) in water for 15 minutes without bringing it to a full boil.
- Plunge the burnweed pot into cold water to rapidly cool.
- Strain the liquid.
- Add 1 to 2 tsp of washing soda to make the solution alkaline.
- Skim clear liquid from the top .
- Use blue sludge at bottom of container as your dye.
Unfortunately, my effort to make dye from plants was not successful with this burnweed. But, hopefully I’ve inspired you to try using burnweed for your natural fabric dye projects.
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