Читать книгу A Garden to Dye For - Chris McLaughlin - Страница 13

One of the first comments I hear when anyone mentions that they use “natural dyes” is that they’re not colorfast like their synthetic counterparts; which seems to imply that they’re not worth the time or effort, because the colors don’t always “stick” for long periods of time.

I’ll admit that I’ve read and listened to my fair share of arguments from both “sides” (if you will) of this dye tug-of-war and I’ve decided that I have to stand with those who use and enjoy natural dyes. Mostly because I don’t find the arguments truly important when it comes to the casual dyer or experimenter.

As in life, not everything is black or white, nor are there any absolutes. In fact, if you are a person who lives for absolutes, this book just might frustrate you. On the other hand, it could loosen up your tie.

I’m going to try to keep my thoughts as concise as possible, but anyone reading this who has met me in real life is already snickering at the thought – so buckle in.

First things first: What exactly do we mean by “colorfast”?

Usually when we think of something as colorfast, we feel that this implies permanence – the color stays exactly how it began, without so much as a change in hue. But fibers can lose color in a couple of different ways.

Some fibers don’t lose color unless they’re exposed to a prolonged amount of light, meaning bright sun. Others hang around just fine outdoors but begin to lose life after several spin cycles in the washer. Often, it’s the specifics that dyers are interested in, depending on what they’re dying and how the item will be used. Then the question becomes “Is it lightfast or is it washfast?” For another wrinkle to the tale, a dye may be considered colorfast to someone who is using a textile that will rarely (if ever) see the bright, outside sun.

When dyes (natural or synthetic) fade or disappear over time – either because of light exposure or being washed – they’re referred to as “fugitive.”

Let’s just tackle all of this colorfast business, as well as other things worth discussing, with a true or false checklist.

1. “Natural dyes aren’t colorfast.” True or false?

That would be false. Yes, some plant dyes are fugitive – but not all of them. Due to substances such as natural tannins, many natural dyes are substantive, which means they stay put – no mordant necessary to fix the color to the fiber (see “Some Key Words” on p. xii). Walnut, for example, offers you staying power, as does madder, Osage-orange, onion skins, goldenrod, etc. Mordanting your fabric or fiber (more on mordants below) will go a long way toward getting color to stay put. Plus, the degree of fading has to do with which plant you use, as well as all of the other variables we talked about earlier.

When someone mentions fading, I can see how that may come off as a huge negative on the surface. But in my experience, many of the colors fade ever-so-slowly and gently. I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to compare it to the changing seasons in the garden. If you end up using something seriously fugitive, there’s a window of opportunity for over-dyeing here. Don’t forget that some fibers take color better than others. Wool, for instance, has always taken natural dyes easier than cotton has, at least for me.

To be fair, natural dyes might be a reasonable concern commercially. It could be potentially challenging to achieve vast amounts of the exact same dye lot, for instance. On the other hand, I’ve spoken with small yarn companies that have no problem selling their naturally dyed yarns with complete customer satisfaction. I’ll have to leave that up to the individual who’s looking to take this to profitable heights. For the intentions of this book, it’s a non-issue.

2. “Natural dyes are always ecologically and environmentally safe.” True or false?

False. Does that surprise you? The reason the answer is false is because of the word “always.” As I mentioned earlier, most plant dyes are considered non-toxic (as well as biodegradable and renewable). However, not all of them. Some are toxic if ingested and some can cause allergic skin reaction on contact. Also, not all mordants are completely safe and non-toxic and some dye plants can be poisonous to people and pets. All dyes and mordants should be handled with thought and safety in mind.

(This seems like a good place to mention that this book isn’t about demonizing synthetic dyes; they, too, can be quite safe when handled properly; they have their own plusses.)

3. “Color derived from plants is always dull.” True or false?

Nah. (False) Have you seen indigo? Poke-berry? Lichen? Madder? Marigold? People, please.

4. “Making natural dyes is very time-consuming.” True or false?

I’m going to say both. Depending on which plant you’re using and what color you’re trying to achieve, natural dyes may take more time than their synthetic counterparts, for sure. This is because sometimes we leave our fibers in a dyebath overnight or we’re using an indigo vat; and getting the vat prepared takes a little time. That said, the basic dyebath that I use for the most part isn’t very time-consuming at all. So it can be whatever you want it to be, depending on your goals.

Let me leave this subject with this thought: Ever heard of the Slow Food movement? If not, then look it up, because making food, fiber, and life from scratch is the way the wind is blowing these days. Slower is being more aware and more involved.

Slower usually equals better. In fact, no matter what kind of dyes you use, if you’re doing it by hand, it’s slow and that means it’s good. Growing the plants and extracting your own dyes brings intimacy to the craft.

5. “Natural dyes aren’t worth the hassle.” True or false?

Au contraire. It may come as no surprise that natural dyes create hues that are in perfect agreement with one another (probably a no-brainer). There’s nothing like working with living color – especially when it came from the garden that you tend.

They are so worth it. They’re worth it for fiber artists, knitters, weavers, and quilters. They’re worth it for sewers and moms and kids.

But for the gardener? It’s especially worth it for the gardener. We loved the plants first.

Before Planting Unfamiliar Plants

On these pages I’ll certainly mention wild and/or native plants and weeds more than once. Although they may produce great colors in the dye pot, in no way am I suggesting that you plant them willy-nilly throughout your yard or garden. When I first started writing this book the plan was to discuss those plants that are commonly planted in gardens and the landscape. But I decided to mention some that are more weeds than actual garden plants because they were just too good to leave out.

What I’m trying to say is that if you’re considering growing wild, native, or weeds for their pigment, please look them up and then cross reference their habits in your area with reliable databases. Some weeds can be grown here in California with no ill effect to native plants of that region – while the very same plant might be considered a noxious weed that’s invasive to the point of crowding out the native plant species of another region. Irresponsibility is a no-win for everybody.

So, before you add a species that’s unfamiliar to you, do your research, folks.

Some good places to start:

National Invasive Species Information Center http://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/resources/databases.shtml

United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Database

http://plants.usda.gov/java/noxiousDriver