Rumex hymenosepalus
I’m really happy to offer this beautiful tannin rich dye plant for the first time this season. Sand Dock is a traditional dye plant native to the Southwest region. It can be used to set up a tannin bath when pre-mordanting cellulose fibers, or also as a natural dye. It yields rusty brown shades very similar to cutch, which shift to dark charcoal grays with an after bath of ferrous at 2-4% WOF.
To use as a tannin to mordant cellulose fibers refer to this blog post.
To use as a natural dye weigh use 20-30% WOF. Fill a dye pot with enough water to submerge the fibers. Add the Sand Dock and stir well. Add the fibers and bring the temperature up to 160-180°F. Hold it there for at least an hour or until you reach the shade you desire, then turn off the heat and let the fibers cool in the dye bath. Steep the fibers overnight to achieve the deepest colors.
This Sand Dock was started by seed in our greenhouse in March and transplanted out to the no-till garden in June. The roots were dug in October and shredded by hand with a micro-planer. The shavings were set out to dry and then ground to a fine powder. Producing this dyestuff was a true labor of love.
Grown, harvested, and cured by Sara here in southwestern Colorado on Ancient Future Farm. Our family has been tending this land and soil with regenerative growing methods since 2005. Our soil is nurtured through extensive cover cropping and our crops are fertilized with compost that we make right here on site. We never use synthetic chemicals such as herbicides, pesticides, chemical fertilizers, or fungicides. Our dyestuffs are harvested by hand when they reach their optimal potential and then carefully cured in our curing room out of direct sunlight. All of our natural dyestuffs are packaged in heat sealed envelopes to keep them fresh. For best results we recommend using them within a year.
Rumex hymenosepalus
I’m really happy to offer this beautiful tannin rich dye plant for the first time this season. Sand Dock is a traditional dye plant native to the Southwest region. It can be used to set up a tannin bath when pre-mordanting cellulose fibers, or also as a natural dye. It yields rusty brown shades very similar to cutch, which shift to dark charcoal grays with an after bath of ferrous at 2-4% WOF.
To use as a tannin to mordant cellulose fibers refer to this blog post.
To use as a natural dye weigh use 20-30% WOF. Fill a dye pot with enough water to submerge the fibers. Add the Sand Dock and stir well. Add the fibers and bring the temperature up to 160-180°F. Hold it there for at least an hour or until you reach the shade you desire, then turn off the heat and let the fibers cool in the dye bath. Steep the fibers overnight to achieve the deepest colors.
This Sand Dock was started by seed in our greenhouse in March and transplanted out to the no-till garden in June. The roots were dug in October and shredded by hand with a micro-planer. The shavings were set out to dry and then ground to a fine powder. Producing this dyestuff was a true labor of love.
Grown, harvested, and cured by Sara here in southwestern Colorado on Ancient Future Farm. Our family has been tending this land and soil with regenerative growing methods since 2005. Our soil is nurtured through extensive cover cropping and our crops are fertilized with compost that we make right here on site. We never use synthetic chemicals such as herbicides, pesticides, chemical fertilizers, or fungicides. Our dyestuffs are harvested by hand when they reach their optimal potential and then carefully cured in our curing room out of direct sunlight. All of our natural dyestuffs are packaged in heat sealed envelopes to keep them fresh. For best results we recommend using them within a year.
