Go on a course: dyeing with natural colours

'Pots and pans were already bubbling away when our group of 12 would-be dyers met at the Weald & Downland Open Air Museum in West Sussex. Our tutor, Michelle Green, initiated us into this ancient art, sharing the alchemical secrets passed down through the centuries by country folk, who discovered that the hedgerows could provide everything they needed to give ye olde clothinge and furnishinges a cheap, colourful makeover.

 

'Wonderful colours can be obtained from a wide range of natural raw materials - reds from brazil wood chips, cochineal and madder root; blues from indigo and woad; yellows from weld and saffron; gold from onion skins; browns from coffee and green walnut husks; caramels and beiges from comfrey, nettles, elder and dock. Livelier shades come from overdyeing - yellow weld overdyed with indigo produces a bluish-green, known by the Elizabethans as popinjay green.

 

'Original dyeing recipes often called for sheep's dung and human urine but, luckily, the dyebath ingredients listed in the helpful notes Michelle had provided for us avoided these unsavoury items. Full of fascinating technical details, her notes also included practical tips, such as the use of a muslin bag to enclose plant material in order to prevent particles becoming stuck in the yarn.

 

'After simmering for several hours, the hanks of wool were removed and draped, like weird-coloured spaghetti, over a rack outside to dry in the sun, creating a harmonious array of mellow hues. Then for the grand finale...dyeing with indigo. When the wool was lifted from the greenish-yellow dyebath, it turned blue before our eyes, as if by magic, with the colour continuing to deepen as we watched.

 

'Keen to have a go ourselves, we donned rubber gloves in order to create colourful souvenirs while the knowledgeable Michelle answered our questions. I came away with a renewed respect for country crafts and a deep desire to get hold of some indigo.'

 

For more information about natural dyeing courses, contact the Weald & Downland Open Air Museum, Singleton, Chichester, West Sussex (01243 811363; www.wealddown.co.uk).

 

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