Dyeing

Solar dyeing, snow dyeing, acid dyeing, natural dyeing… We’ve tested many dyeing techniques over the years. What would you like to know about textile dyeing?

Ecoprinting

Lovely leaf prints

This natural dyeing technique allows you to print leaves, flowers and twigs directly onto fabric. In this article, we show you how this works and what not to do.

Magazine 10

Dyeing silk

A simple luxury

Due to its hefty price tag and delicacy, silk can be rather intimidating to dye. As always, we were happy to take on this challenge.

Magazine 10

Dyeing with blueprints

Photography on fabric

Cyanotypes are an old form of photography that can be used to dye fabrics in sunlight. Interested? Find all you need to know in magazine 09.

Magazine 09

Is black difficult to dye?

We tried ten different recipes

Madder, indigo, tannin, iron… What is the best way to dye black? We have tested it for you!

Magazine 09

Identify your yarn or fabric

To find out what fibre you’re working with

As crafters, we’ve all been given some mystery yarn or fabric at some point. Bleach, a lighter and this article; that’s all you need to identify your yarn, fibre or fabric.

Magazine 09

Mushroom dyeing

What mushrooms can you dye with?

There are thousands of different mushroom species and many of those give off colour. This article is a brief introduction to mushroom dyeing and includes a detailed explanation on how to dye using dyer’s polypore.

Magazine 08

Break your dyes

For a unique result

Any dye that consists of multiple pigments can theoretically break, either accidentally or on purpose. We’ve tried different techniques with which you can use this effect to your advantage.

Magazine 08

Dye fibre in a bag

Dyeing with residual heat

If you’d like to save electricity and time, this is the article you need! Dye yarn, fibre or fabric in a cooking bag or haybox to make dyeing easy and quick! Less work, great results. Read all about it in the article in magazine 7.

Magazine 07

Making Turkish red

And other uses for madder

Turkish red is an example of the many uses of madder. This plant has a rich history and was grown for hundreds of years in Zeeland in the Netherlands. It’s a dye with multiple purposes: use it to dye brown, orange, red and even purple.

Magazine 07

Calculate your dye colour

Computer assisted dyeing

You can use a computer to extract the CMYK makeup of the colour you’re looking for. With information, you can dye the colour you’re after on fabric, yarn or fibre.

Magazine 06

Dyeing plant fibres

How to mordant cotton

Do you know the difference between alum, aluminium acetate and aluminium lactate? These are all aluminium based chemicals that help you prepare cotton fibres for natural dyeing. Learn all about how to work with these materials in this article.

Magazine 06

Design your own fabric

Printing fabric with stamps

Use stamps and various different types of dyes to turn plain fabric and clothing into gorgeous and interesting designs!

Magazine 05

Recolour your fibres

Natural dyeing with colour modifiers

Shift and change up your naturally dyed colours by using different treatments! Use acid, alkaline, copper or iron to revive your faded logwood scarf or change a colour you don’t like to one you love!

Magazine 05

Overdyeing yarn

Fixing mistakes

Not every dye experiment works out well, or perhaps you own some yarn you’re not too fond of. The answer is simple: dye it again! This article teaches you everything you need to know about overdyeing yarn.

Magazine 04

Saint John’s wort

Dye half the rainbow with one plant

In many temperate regions of Europe and North America, this plant is classed as a weed, because it spreads easily and grows quickly. That’s fortunate for us, because this is an amazing dye plant! With the right techniques, you can dye multiple colours from one dye bath. Read all about it in our fourth magazine.

Magazine 04

Dyeing and sustainability, historical picture

Is dyeing sustainable?

Environmentally friendly dyeing

It is to us! We’ve taken a deep dive into this topic and researched the effects of commercial and home dyeing on the climate. This article contains a nuanced view of each aspect of dyeing and gives you tips on how to make your dyeing practice greener.

Magazine 03

Dyeing self-striping yarn

Potato-chip knitting and weaving

Self-striping yarn is wonderful to work with: all the stripes you desire, without a ton of ends to weave in afterwards! But there is a bit of math involved. We’ve explained everything you need to know to dye your own striping yarns for socks and more.

Magazine 03

Indigo blue

Blue, with historical roots

Indigo dyeing feels magical: your yarn comes yellow out of the dye bath and slowly turns blue while you’re watching. Read all about the dyeing techniques you can do with this pigment and how it’s changed the world as we know it today.

Magazine 02

Solar-powered dyeing

With minimal equipment

On hot summer days, the last thing you want to do is stand at a stove, stirring a dye pot for hours on end. With this technique, you don’t have to! Dye beautiful colours with no electricity and very little work required.

Magazine 02

Gradient dyeing

With natural dyes

Dyeing colour changes is easy with acid dyes, but it can also be done with natural dye pigments! We’ve tested three different methods and shared our results in the first edition of Twisting Tales Magazine.

Magazine 01

Colouring buttons

With natural dyes

The perfect button for your project can be hard to find. But did you know that you can dye your own? Read all about dyeing buttons in our first magazine.

Magazine 01

Cold weather dyeing

Using snow and ice

Whether you’re completely snowed in or whether there’s only a few specks on the ground: if you’ve got snow, it’s time to dye! This technique creates unique effects and colour blending.

Magazine 01