Easy Summertime Solar Dyeing

Take advantage of the warm summer sun and an easygoing method of natural plant dyeing.

Days are getting very warm here in Northern California and it's the perfect time for solar dyeing. Timing has it our pomegranate tree is dropping pomegranates in it's early flowering season, the choice for my project was obvious. I haven't seen anyone using the small fruits and thought about using some old skins that wintered on the tree. Too large a project for me right now.

Now I realize not many people have the opportunity to gather pomegranates but it's more the idea of solar dyeing. Use something that's available to you, there's many fruits and vegetables to try. The basics are the same.

Using a glass jar I filled to almost the top with the small fruits and covered with water. That's it. The jar sat mostly in the sun for 10 days. I probably could have used it a few days earlier because it was very hot and sunny. You'll have to experiment with how long you are able to have it in the sun.

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/b3bfcb_a10fde46e72a4c17acb39fdff502d728/360p/mp4/file.mp4

Having strained out the plant material I added cotton yarn, without mordant, and a wool blend that was pre-soaked with alum. This was my first time trying the alum and I am pleased but I was just guessing on how much to add and how long to soak it.

Kept the yarn in the dye for 24 hours then rinsed with cold water.

I love the excitement of seeing the colors nature has to offer.