Solar Dyeing with Plants

My journey into dyeing fabric with plant materials came about through circumstances that I don’t quite recall. The months leading up to it were filled with so much, and I had long been overdue for an activity or hobby that would provide me with the sort of creative outlet that would soothe my intermittent depression, sadness, and uncertainty for the future.

This was a good thing, and I needed it.

For an extended period in life, I was an independent clothing designer. Although my work centered around fabric designed by others, the desire to have some sort of hand in creating my own fabrics was ever-present. In fact, “creating” fabrics through the process of patchworking fabric pieces together to create a larger piece from which to make a garment was one way I did just that.

Nowadays I see myself as a designer of textiles rather than garments. My current life requires a less complex means of relating to whatever creative activity I engage in, and dying textiles naturally using the power of the sun allows for that, beautifully.

To start, my kitchen and stove served as the dyeing laboratory. Then, as a need for more space became apparent, I began to dye fabric on hotplates outside under the porch. At that stage, I was thrifting regularly to find pots, utensils, and other materials helpful toward the dyeing process. Then at some point, solar dyeing became my main focus. I mostly abandoned the majority of the stainless steel equipment that I’d collected over several weeks and migrated to a sunny spot in the yard. Repurposed glass jars became the primary tools.

In solar dyeing, I found my purpose in textile dyeing. The outcomes are beautiful, but it’s the process that touches at the very core of who I am.

I look forward to continuing this work.

This YouTube video shows the outcomes of solar dyed fabrics: https://youtu.be/EOxpvi3mljk