From Dock green to Dandelion yellow
As I’ve said before, I am not living the romantic lifestyle, in the deep countryside, surrounded by a huge abundance and variety of plants.
Like many of us I am instead surrounded by lots of plants that are considered as weeds. Two of these are Dock and Dandelion.
Now, I am a person who loves these resilient plants that will find a way to grow despite the environment being harsh.
Furthermore, because they are so easy to grow, there are lots of them and so I don’t feel worried about using them for just for dyes.
Turning weeds into dye
So, how is it done?
First, identify your Dock leaves.
Then gather up a bucket full and taken them home.
You may want to pour them on to the ground and leave them for a while, just in case there are small creatures still living on the leaves.
Then tear them up a bit if you like, put them back in the bucket and pour on enough boiling water to cover the leaves. Leave for at least 8 hours.
Completing the process
Now you can drain the liquid into your dye bath and add the wilted leaves to the compost heap or simply on to the soil.
Now you can carry out the rest of the process just like I have describe in my introduction to plant dyeing here…
And there you have it.
The green leaves have produced a bright Dandelion yellow, with no waste.
