Thursday, October 22, 2009

{ Sheeps Clothing }

I have loved working with wool ever since I first felt it's warm nap..
well....over 25 years ago I would guess...
I beagn my love affair with this textile when I started to hook rugs, scouring out the thrift stores and Goodwill for an occasional Pendleton shirt...or perhaps a horrid plaid skirt that I knew I could make primitively beautiful by overdyeing it...
Since moving here to VA, and raising our own sheep, it has become abundant for me, which is why I started to needle felt...
Needle felting is done by poking a barbed needle down into carded wool roving, to form a shape.
you can either felt it onto a flat piece of wool fabric, or felt it into a 3-dimensional shape.
Since my sheep are white, so then, is my raw wool.
(except for the stickers, hay & 'stuff' that gets caught in the wool...
I'm one of the best wool-pickers I know!)
So...I have, by trial and error, dyed my own wool roving.
I prefer using Natural materials as dyestuff, and Vinegar as a mordant.
I enjoy the process of walking through my woods and fields, basket in hand, foraging for what Mother Nature has to offer my dye-pot.
Here's a list of my favorite Naturals to dye with:
Acorns ~ tan
Barberry ~ yellow to deep green
Birch ~ shades of brown
Blackberry ~ purple to grey
Bracken ~ yellowish green
Chamomile ~ shades of gold
Coltsfoot ~ greenish yellow
Currants ~ lilac to dark purple
Dandelion ~ shades of yellow
Daylily ~ golds, to blueish grey
Elderberry ~ purple/blue
Goldenrod ~ lemon yellow to gold
Hickory ~ dark tan
Indigo ~ glorious shades of blue!
Grapes ~ brilliant reds to purple
Marigold ~ golden mustard
Stinging Nettle ~ yellows
Raspberries ~ pink
Sassafras ~ reds to almost black
Sumac ~ yellowish tan to grey/brown
Walnut ~ (my favorite to OVERdye with) dark brown to almost black
don't forget to wear gloves when foraging, and especially dyeing,
as most of these plants will stain your skin in their wild-state...
also, remember that color depths will vary, according to your steeping/dyeing time.
So, go for a walk and look at your surroundings in a new way!
what a colorful world we live in!!
Blessed be, Friends...
Lori

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I know your love for wool! When i first went to the sheep and wool festival in howard county md. I dreamt about spinning for a week( NO literally i did). I just took a spinning class at mannings in gettsyburg pa and i am so ready to raise my own sheep and collect, dye, spin, weave and knit my own wool...I have a fever that hasn't went away. I enjoy your blogging and the information i learn. PLease keep sharing your knowledge because this beginner is soakin it in!!

LINDA BYLSMA said...

I did some natural dying this summer, and got very frustrated with the lack of color. Then a month later I discovered my vinegar jug was full of : plain water!!!

Gail said...

My grandfather use to wear wool year round and would say what will keep you warm will keep you cool.

Suzy said...

Thanks for sharing Lori~ I have this great love of wool also~ can't get enough of it~ please keep sharing!
Suzy

William Bezek said...

I ejoyed your list of nature's bounty as dye components...you goodie witch! But, I noticed the whole post is composed to make a silhouette...I just can't figure out what it is?

Anonymous said...

Lori thank you for this list I feel as though I walked with you.