Friday, February 3, 2012

Friday Inspiration - Dyeing with Turmeric


I love yellow - that deep, vibrant, glowing yellow!  Even in Phoenix, yellow feels very good during the winter.  Not that I can wear it, though.  My skin is pale enough, yellow reflects off of it, making me look jaundiced.  So I add it in where I can.  I've been researching turmeric as a fabric dye and can't wait to give it a try.  This is one of the natural dyes traditionally used in Buddhist monks' yellow robes.




Turmeric is related to ginger and has been used in dyeing fabric for over 4,000 years.  If you haven't heard of its health benefits, take a look here.  But it's the color I'm currently interested in.



We're beginning our experiments with natural dyes in the class I'm taking this semester, after learning to hand spin various fibers.  So when I went looking for examples, I fell in love with this handspun, turmeric dyed yarn listed for sale on Etsy here.  If my experiments turn out something like this, I'll be a very happy person!







Or if I can end up with fabric and thread as vibrant as Diana Trout's!





And I'm finding inspiration in the soy silk roving I found on Paper Kitty's blog here.


I'll keep you updated on what I end up with!


Happy Creating!  Deborah

1 comment:

  1. Great post! I recently became interested in natural dyes, and this post is really helpful! Glad to see you got such great results, too.

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