How to make natural dyes for fabric at home and dye with them

Sometimes, when doing handicrafts or creating a unique interior for your home, you need fabric of a certain color or shade. Shopping trips in search of the right material will not necessarily bring the desired result, but it will definitely take a lot of effort and time.

In this article we will talk about an excellent alternative - DIY coloring using natural ingredients. This is such a fascinating process that for many it becomes a full-fledged hobby. Once you try it, you can't stop.

Why is it more profitable to use natural dyes for fabric?

Artificial colors and flavors surround us at every step and cause considerable harm to human health and the environment, so lately naturalness in everything has become increasingly valued. If you study the forgotten recipes of our grandmothers, it turns out that using the most common vegetable dyes, you can easily dye fabric in all the colors of the rainbow.

The colors of natural dyes, unlike synthetic ones, do not have very bright, saturated tones; they are softer, deeper and more noble. The basic palette of nature is yellow, green and red, although if you need blue or purple, you can easily get it. One of the undeniable advantages of natural ingredients, in addition to naturalness, is color fastness. Textiles dyed with natural dyes practically do not fade.

Preparing fabric for dyeing

The key to successful coloring is proper preparation. There are a number of basic rules that must be followed to achieve the desired result:

• Only natural fabrics should be dyed with natural dyes (synthetic materials are less susceptible to natural components);
• use large-volume stainless steel or enamel containers for dyeing (the ratio of the weight of the dye to the weight of the fabric must be at least 20:1);
• To prepare the solution, you need soft natural water: spring, rain or melt (do not use hard tap water);
• the material for painting must be absolutely clean and previously prepared;
• field of staining, you should definitely fix the result by adding a little vinegar to the water during the last rinse;
• If you want to achieve uniform coloring, avoid folds on the material during the painting process and subsequent drying.

ATTENTION! A PRELIMINARY TEST DYING ON A SMALL PIECE OF FABRIC WILL ALLOW YOU TO AVOID UNEXPECTED SITUATIONS.

To obtain even, rich colors, be sure to prepare the material before dyeing. To do this, pour water into a large saucepan, add soda at the rate of 2 grams per liter and a couple of drops of detergent.Place the item to be painted, bring to a boil and boil for about 20 minutes.

Wait until it cools completely and rinse well. The fabric is ready, you can start dyeing. Immediately before dyeing, it can be useful to soak the material for several hours in a mordant (this can be salt, vinegar or iron sulfate), the composition of which determines the type of material and the dye used.

Depending on the dye, the dyeing technology is slightly different, but the basic algorithm is always the same:

• immerse natural ingredients in water and prepare a coloring solution;
• immerse the item to be painted in the hot solution;
• maintain the required time in a hot or boiling solution;
• take out and hang or lay out the material.

How to give flesh color to fabric

Recently, textile tilde dolls have become increasingly popular. To create them, flesh-colored fabric is used. However, this fabric is not always available in stores due to low demand for it. Therefore, it is much easier to create the necessary shade yourself. You can use regular tea or coffee as natural dyes.

Just prepare a hot solution of strong tea, adding a couple of tablespoons of soda to it, and place the item to be painted in it for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. After which the fabric should be removed and dried. Using tea as a dye, you can create any flesh tone, and the color depends not only on the aging time and strength of the brew, but also on the type of tea itself.

Dye the fabric black and brown

The process of dyeing fabric black and brown, as well as any other, is not much different. The main thing is to choose a natural dye that is more suitable for you.

To make it black use:

• maple leaves;
• sea ​​buckthorn leaves;
• oregano stems;
• loosestrife.

For a more saturated black shade, you must first soak the fabric in a mordant based on iron sulfate for several hours.

Brown color allows you to get:

• oak bark;
• horse sorrel;
• walnuts (peel and shell of the fruit);
• leaves and young branches of black alder.

ATTENTION! CARRY OUT ALL PAINTING WORK ONLY WITH RUBBER GLOVES. NATURAL SUBSTANCES PERFECTLY COLOR NOT ONLY FABRICS, BUT ALSO THE SKIN OF HANDS.

How to paint material in bright colors

As a rule, the most vibrant colors can be achieved by using berries as dyes. Blackberries will give red, blueberries will give purple, cherries and cranberries will give pink. A beautiful blue color can be obtained from ordinary red cabbage.

The painting process is a real creativity; in addition to the quantity and composition of coloring substances, the final result is influenced by: the volume and temperature of the coloring composition, the hardness of the water used, and the exposure time. The main thing is not to be afraid to experiment, and everything will certainly work out.