Dahlia dried flowers

Use these dried Dahlia (D. pinnata) flowers to create a dye bath for any natural fiber.

20gm / .7oz dried flowers will dye 2 oz. of fiber an intense shade. For lighter colors, either use more fiber or less flowers in your dye bath. The second photo shows the colors on wool yarn.

As you can see, the color of the flower is not always representative of the pigment hiding within!

In the second photo you can see an idea of the color on wool yarn with an Alum mordant. Of course, your water pH and mineral content may shift the colors. (Also your monitor may show a slightly different shade than mine!)

Simmer flowers in enough water to generously cover your fiber for about 30 minutes. Strain out flowers and add mordanted fiber and simmer until the color you want is reached. It is a concentrated dye and there will probably be enough pigment left in the bath to dye more fiber a lighter color.

I grew and harvested these flowers in my garden in Oakland, California.

For more information on growing and using natural dye plants, see my listing for a guidebook I co-created with Deepa Natarajan called 10 PLANTS FOR COLOR: A Simple Guide to Growing and Using Natural Dye Plants.