March 10, 2018

Natural Dye Shopping List

     I thought I'd give you a shopping list of dyes for Maiwa, my supplier.  It gives a well-rounded assortment.
  • Gallnut Extract 100g (3.6 oz.)
  • Fructose - 250g (8.82 oz.)
  • Calcium Carbonate 250g (8.82 oz)
  • Potassium Alum Sulfate 100g (3.6 oz.)
  • Weld 100g (3.6 oz.)
  • Walnut Husks Ground 100g (3.6 oz.)
  • Madder 100g (3.6 oz.)
  • Calcium Hydroxide (Calx) 60g (2.1 oz)
  • Indigo Natural 30g (1.1 oz.)
     If you are wondering how to dye with natural dyes, Maiwa has informational guides about natural dyes at https://maiwa.com/pages/instructions including The Maiwa Guide to Natural Dyes: What They Are and How to Use Them, Indigo and Woad: Natural and Synthetic, and The Organic Vat.  The last one is also about indigo and includes the fructose vat, which is what the shopping list is meant to give.
     In other news, I have made headway in my effort to have more linen in my life.  I bought a pair of linen socks from Rawganique.  They look like sports socks but they are linen instead of cotton, and they are undyed which goes well with my synthetic dye diet.  Wearing the socks feels as good as wading in the ocean barefoot.  Really.  And I very much like wading in the ocean.
     I haven't totally given up on the plan to knit a linen sweater.  We shall see.  Maybe a linen språng pullover like the wool one I did.  That would be amazing.