Lichen dye

“I find myself inspecting little granules as it were on the bark of trees little shields or apothecia springing from a thallus such is th...

My first attempt at dyeing with lichens proved troublesome. Curiously, more people have read that post than any other, so it was my most rewarding beige dye yet. The proper process for fermenting crottle remained a beguiling mystery, til this book was recommended by people on Ravelry. It is old enough to give me a feeling of rediscovered tradition, but modern enough to follow. Eileen Bolton sounds fascinating, I'd be driving up to North Wales to find her, if she hadn't died 25 years ago. Her…

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Dyeing with lichen differs from the ”normal way” of plant dyeing. It’s kind of like making a trifle. I have tried dyeing with lichen before, but I used the kind you find in trees and I found that t…

This was a lichen dyeing experiment changing the pH of the dyebath. The lichen on the left is Usnea hirta; in the middle is Lobaria pulmonaria; on the right is Usnea longissima. Fiber samples include a hank of wool yarn and silk and cotton fabric swatches. Each lichen was simmered for 3 hours before entering fiber. Usnea hirta The bundle on the left was at pH 4; in the center, pH 7; on the right, pH 9 All fibers were simmered simultaneously with lichen for 2 hours. Lobaria pulmonaria The…

yarn dyeing with lichen natural dyeing cladonia mitis

First a disclaimer: no pennies were harmed in the process of dyeing this fabric. Craft of the Dyer: Colour from Plants and Lichens by Nova Scotia dye expert Karen Leigh Casselman is my main dye bible. Most of the dye recipes are for plants found in North America, but Casselman offers two offbeat mineral dye recipes with copper pennies and clay as the dyestuff. This summer I'll try the clay recipe which is very messy. Copper penny blue was manageable in my laundry room. Dawn MacNutt adapted…

Creating Lichen Dyes ( Letharia Vulpina or Wolf Lichen): Lichen: I pass it endlessly when hiking in the woods. They grow on rocks and hangs from trees. It covers branches on the forest floor. It's everywhere if you take a moment to focus. But what is lichen exactly? They are not plants. They are a symbio…

Most of you will recognize this widespreading lichen in bright yellow. If it grows in shade the colour is more grey green or greeny bluish. It grows on rocky surfaces, tree barks, pavements, timber…

Lichen dyes date back to the 16th century, according to the Web site, Elizabethan Era. These mossy, rock-dwelling plants were a cheap source of green dye for both rich and poor, enabling everyone to have colorful clothes.