Natural Kitchen Dyes by Alicia Hall

Author:Alicia Hall
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: CRAFTS &HOBBIES / Dye
Publisher: Pen and Sword
Published: 2020-03-24T00:00:00+00:00

Hibiscus tea is made from the large, dark red flower petals of the hibiscus plant. There are also varieties of hibiscus that have pink and white flowers - although these are not used in tea and don’t have much value when it comes to natural dyeing. Even though it makes a delicious drink, hibiscus tea isn’t readily available in all supermarkets here in the UK, but it is well worth finding some as it really does make the most wonderful colour. The petals can also be used fresh from the plant, although better colours are achieved from the dried petals sold as loose leaf tea (or tea bags).

As it is an anthocyanin dye (meaning that it is pH sensitive), hibiscus tea is a brilliant raspberry colour which turns to a greyish-purple after the fabric is washed - with either a detergent or simply rinsed in tap water - as washing it will change its pH. This of course can cause some problems as it will mean that it’s necessary to add a modifier to the fabric each time that it is washed in order to bring the pH back to an acidic level for it to stay pink. Adding an alkaline modifier will turn it blue/purple/grey. Another way to get around this if you wish to keep the initial raspberry pink colour is to use it in a project that won’t require washing or rinsing. For example, for the Raffia Basket project in this book I dyed raffia and let it drip dry in the shade in my garden rather than rinsing it. As I was making a basket it didn’t matter that the fabric wasn’t rinsed as it won’t need to be washed in the future. Similarly you don’t need to rinse fabric or yarn that will be turned into pieces of artwork, like a macramé wall-hanging or plant hanger, for example.

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