Elaine Duncan

I am just in the process of cutting back the weld plants in my natural dye garden.  I have saved some of the seed for next year.  But from the reading I have done, I understand that the seeds can get away from you and that you can have quite an invasive plant on your hands.  My natural dye garden is very small…contained within a 4′ by 8′ raised bed with screens around the outside to prevent the deer from nibbling.  I stripped alot of the plants of their leaves, then have the leaves cooking in a vat of water.  I still have enough plants with leaves for another batch later in the season.  And I also used these plant leaves earlier in July for my natural dye dya class…so just a few plants give lots of dye.  It is a very clear yellow which sometimes I add some iron towards the end of the dyeing to yield greens.  I have been making skeins, then scouring and mordanting  paternayan persian wool, silk noils,  fine silk boucles, and fine 140/2 silks  all for tapestry weaving.  Last week I dyed with Tansy which I found along the road side where I live.  Again it yielded yellows, but different from the weld.  I will post photos soon.