Natural Dyeing

I create my sewn fiber art from naturally hand-dyed linen fabric. A lot of work goes into creating the fabric colors I use. The process of scouring and mordanting the cellulose fibers in my linen pieces enables the dye to take so that it will not wash out. The mordanting also improves color-fastness.

Here is my first step, cutting my yardage to the size I want:

Once my pieces are cut, I scour the fabric to remove production chemicals and starches so that the dye will absorb better. This process takes a few hours, then soaks overnight in a wheat bran bath:

After scouring, the linen is mordanted by soaking first in a tannin bath and then a solution of soda ash and aluminum sulfate. After a rinse, it can then be dyed or dried for later use. The fun really starts when I add it to a dye bath! Here is a fat quarter going into a madder bath:

The dye bath is maintained at 180 degrees until the fabric absorbs enough dye to take on the intensity of color I want.