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Dyeing Marigolds

© Lili Pintea-Reed

Dyeing Marigolds by Lili Pintea-Reed

The last marigolds of the season, along with other frost-nipped garden flowers, can be collected and use for dye. Marigolds make a wonderful -- if odiforous -- yellow dye. Simply pluck any late or frost-nipped blossoms. Try to collect enough that you have a two to one ratio of blossoms to wool in order to get good color. If you are picking the last sporadic blooms you can freeze the flower heads until you have enough for a dye bath.

Once collected, snip the leafy ends off the blossom heads, or the resulting dye will have a green cast to it. Once all the blossoms are trimmmed (no different than chopping greens for cooking) place the yellow and orange petals into a pot and simmer under boiling for around an hour. Let cool overnight and strain the liquid.

Wet the skeins of wool to be dyed and then place in a an alum mordant bath. Soak completely. Then transfer the mordanted skiens into the marigold solution and bring up to a simmer. Hold under boiling for under an hour. Let the skeins cool and soak in the dye bath overnight. Remove and soak in cool water until the extra dye stops running fromt the skiens. Hang to dry.

You should have a wonderful rich golden yellow. While not completely light-fast (few natural dyes are) it is good yellow which will keep well out of light.

Another method to try is to place the flowers, mordent solution, and yarn in a big Sun Tea jar and let it sit for a few days in the sun. Try it and see!

Other garden flowers can be handled in a similar fashion. Keep a notebook and list your late season experiments!

Here are few more dyeing information sties to check out:

MiningCo.
Natural Dye Research in Peru