Natural Dye - Calendula

Calendula Natural Dye, related to the marigold plant, produces a beautiful range of colours from bright sunshine yellow through to soft khaki greens, depending on the fibre and dyeing conditions. It’s a traditional plant dye that works particularly well with natural fibres and is a rewarding choice for anyone exploring natural dyeing.

Benefits

Calendula is an excellent introduction to natural dyeing and creates warm, vibrant shades that complement handspun yarns, wool tops and other natural fibres.

Technical

For best results, use 100% ground flower heads based on the weight of fibre (WOF). When dyeing protein fibres such as wool or silk, mordant with alum at 15% WOF. For cellulose fibres, first mordant with tannin at 8% WOF, followed by alum at 15% WOF.

To prepare the dye bath, cover the calendula flowers with hot water and leave to soak overnight in a warm place. The flowers can then be removed and dried for future dyeing, as they may be reused. Transfer the calendula liquor to a dye pot, add the fibre and gently simmer for around two hours. Once dyed, remove the fibre and rinse thoroughly. It is normal for some excess dye to rinse out during washing.