The EssentiaList

by Catherine Haug; basket photos by Joan Goldstein

Joan provided a 2-page handout which is available on our website: The EssentiaList: Dying Fibers with Natural Materials, by Joan Goldstein

Presentation Topics

The following topics are covered in more detail in the complete Gathering Summary: Using Natural Dyes for Fibers (pdf):

• Colors (Joan’s baskets of colorful yarns)
• Pigment vs. Dye
• Getting the Dye to ‘Stick’: Using Mordants
• Dyes from the Kitchen: coffee, tea and onion skins
• Dying with Lichens and Orchil
• Dyes from the Garden: amaranth, cosmos, cottonwood, Japanese indigo, madder, cochineal
• The Affect of pH, and Dying Plant vs Animal Fibers
• Premordanting
• Overview of Dying Process
• Sources & References

Japanese Indigo

Sources & References

Joan’s Bibliography

• Buchanan, Rita. (1995). A Dyer’s Garden. Loveland: Interweave Press, LLC.
• Cannon, John and Margaret.  (2003).  Dye Plants and Dyeing. Portland: Timber Press, Inc.
• Greenfield, Amy Butler.  (2005).  A Perfect Red. New York: HarperCollins Publishers.  Note: history, no dye directions.
• Miller, Dorothy.  (1999).  Indigo From Seed to Dye. Santa Cruz: Indigo Press.  ISBN:  0-9604060-1-8.
• Rice, Miriam and Dorothy Beebee.  (1980).  Mushrooms For Color. Eureka: Mad River Press Inc.
• Van Stralen, Trudy.  (1993).  Indigo, Madder & Marigold; A Portfolio of Colors from Natural Dyes. Loveland: Interweave Press, LLC.
• Klos, Dagmar.  (2010).  “Dyeing Basics: An introduction to natural dyes.”  Spin-off, Vol 34, No 3, Fall 2010, 42-44.
• Fahey, Elizabeth.  (2010).  “Dyeing with Black Walnuts.”  Spin-off, Vol 34, No 3, Fall 2010, 54-56.

Lichens, Spinach, Logwood with Cosmos (dark green)

From the Web:

• Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org (multiple pages)
• Dying with Mushrooms and Lichen; blog.mycology.cornell.edu/?p=113
• Orchil, the Poor Person’s Purple, by Chris Laning: www.ravensgard.org/gerekr/Orchil.html
• The Cottonwood Tree: An American Champion, by Kathleen Cain (see books.google.com, for page 24)
• Growing Japanese Indigo in your garden, by Donna Druchunas (includes a source for seeds): www.sheeptoshawl.com/indigo.html
• Onion Skin Dye: vikland.tripod.com/onion.html
• The EssentiaList: Dying Fibers with Natural Materials, by Joan Goldstein essentialstuff.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/EsL_dyingFibers2_JGoldstein.pdf
• Gathering Summary: Using Natural Dyes for Fibers (essentialstuff.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/NaturalDyes-for-FIbers_JG_092210.pdf)

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