About Natural Dyes and Dyeing Processes

See no evil, talk no evil, hear no evil monkey.

Madder + marigold. Then, resist, tannin black (for the lines). Then, light indigo.

I am often asked, why natural dyes? The simple answer is that I started with natural dyes and have not moved from it. The longer answer would be that, I often remember what my father, who was a natural dye teacher, told me, “Natural dye dyers want to get closer to the ground.” What he meant was that, at the beginning, you may start with extracts you buy from a store. But soon you will start wondering if you could use dry raw material. Then, fresh raw material. And then, you start wondering if you could grow the material yourself. Thus, it seems almost inevitable that a dyer will want to get closer to the ground. This rootedness, this warm allure to get closer to the earth, to the soil, is very reassuring to me.
I use many techniques to dye my garments. But the main ones are shibori, batik, and katazome. Often, I combine these techniques, which makes the process a lot more complicated. Any material or method that prevents the dye from reaching specific places is called a “resist”.
All of the technique require that the fabric is ready to accept the dye. The fabric may have oils, starch, fat, fingerprints, dirt, grime, and all sorts of impurities on them, acquired in the manufacturing process and/or transporting process. So, you need to scour the fabric. Scouring is usually done with hot water and soda ash, but you may need to do more for heavily soiled fabric.
Shibori, sometimes referred to as shape-resist, is a traditional Japanese technique that uses binding, sewing, and clamping to control where the dye goes. This technique is often used with indigo but can be applied to other dyes as well.
Batik uses wax as the resist. The wax, usually a mix of paraffin and bee’s wax, is molten and then applied with a brush. The area covered in wax repels the dye and the rest of the area takes the dye. Since the wax melts at a temperature as low as 140f (60c), this method is usually not used with dyes that need to be heated. After the dyeing is finished, the wax then has to be removed by putting the fabric through scalding hot water.
Katazome is also a traditional Japanese technique. It uses stencils and a paste resist. The paste resist is applied using a stencil and left to dry. When the paste dries completely, the fabric is ready for dyeing. However, since the paste has to come off at the end, it is still water soluble. So, it cannot be dipped too long in a dye liquor. Having this in mind, you apply the dye. Sometimes it requires you to brush-on the dye and steaming it at the end.
Then, there are the dyes. There are a LOT of natural dyes and dyeing techniques. I even use spent coffee grounds and noxious weeds to get dye. Combined with the resist methods mentioned above, the possibilities are endless!

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About Natural Dyes and Dyeing Processes

I use many techniques to dye my garments. But the main ones are shibori, batik, and katazome. Often, I combine these techniques, which makes the process a lot more complicated. Any material or method that prevents the dye from reaching specific places is called a “resist”.

Shibori, sometimes referred to as shape-resist, is a traditional Japanese technique that uses binding, sewing, and clamping to control where the dye goes. This technique is often used with indigo but can be applied to other dyes as well.

Then, there are the dyes. There are a LOT of natural dyes and dyeing techniques. I even use spent coffee grounds and noxious weeds to get dye. Combined with the resist methods mentioned above, the possibilities are endless!