Natural dyeing of wool threads, in Cretan tradition

Flowers of the field

Chamomile, daisies, nettle, ivy, oregano, artichoke, calendula.

Collection

Spring, from the end of March to the end of May, is the time to collect the flowers. In the plains, they are presented in November, while in the mountainous parts in February and March. In the spring we have the white daisies. Harvesting is easy. We collect the flowers together with the leaves. They also give us a nice colour.

Dosage

The number of flowers we will need depends on whether we will use them fresh or dried. For one kilogram of wool, we will need about 700 gr of fresh flowers or 400 gr of dry ones. Note that the flowers of calendula and chamomile can be used fresh or dried.

Instructions

• Put the dried flowers in the water in the evening.
• The next day, boil them in the same water on low heat for 30-45 mins, without the temperature exceeding 75-80.
• Strain the boiled flowers with the help of a strainer and strainer.
• Let our tincture cool down to about 40 (to be able to put our hand in it) and dip the freshly squeezed wool into it.
• Gradually raise the temperature and let it boil (no more than 85) for 45 minutes to an hour, watching to get the shade we want. For this purpose, it is good to put a small sample of the same wool, so that we can easily check the shade.
• Take it off the heat, let it cool in the dye liquid and dry it with the dye, without rinsing it.
• After it dries, rinse it with plenty of water until the water runs clear and let it dry again, in a cool and shady place.

Flowers and plants in the pot or garden

Hibiscus flowers, marigolds, red dahlias, red chrysanthemums, coleus

Collection 

From the red chrysanthemums, we take the overripe flowers, together with a few leaves, and use them fresh (August-September). To dye yarn with a nice leaf, we collect leaves and stems (clumps) in August, when the plant is pruned, to renew itself. We take the overripe flowers together with a few leaves, i.e. we take the whole top of the leaves from a bouquet or from useless ones that are thrown away. Fresh they give us a nice colour, dry they are not good.

The flowers of the red hibiscus that close and fall every day, we use them as dyes from May. Marigold flowers when ripe (September). We collect the red dahlias from May to June. The flowers of the red Hibiscus, which every day close and fall useless, we collect them and use them in the same way.

Marigold flowers also dye when ripe. They also dye the marigold leaves separately, but also together with the flowers. We use them both fresh and dry.

Dosage

For one kilogram of dry wool, we need

• Hibiscus: 300 gr of dried flowers or one kilogram of fresh.
• Marigold; 500 gr of dry flowers with a few leaves or a kilo of fresh.
• Red dahlias: One kilo of fresh flowers.
• Coleus: One kilo of leaves together with the twigs or 500 gr dry.

Recipe

• 300 gr red hibiscus flowers, dry or 1 kg fresh
• 1 kg of yarn
• Wrings for wetting the thread.

Boil thread and flowers together and we have a nice beige colour.

False yellowhead

Collection

We find false yellowheads everywhere. It is a wild bush and is found in uncultivated fields, even on the roadside. It has yellowish flowers its foliage is rough and its smell is strong. Leaves and branches are collected at the end of August (just before flowering).

Instructions 

• Boil until the leaves melt.
• Strain the juice and put the rest inside to boil for half an hour.
• Then take it out and sift it well with ash.
• Pile it in a coffin and pour warm water over it.
• Leave it for a day and then wash and dry it.

The plant should be boiled immediately after harvesting, preferably in a stainless-steel pot. If, before boiling, it stays in the water for one night, if we use pure squeeze or none at all and use a copper pot, it will give us yellow-green shades.

If, after painting, we cover it with ashes and pour warm water over it, it will give grey-green to deep green shades.

If, instead of ash, we dip it in ammonia solution, it will give bright green shades.

If we immerse it for a few minutes in warm water, where we have dissolved a small amount of bluestone, it will give blue-green shades. These "strange" sharpenings give an idea of ​​the surprises that await him or her who will deal with vegetable dyes with pleasure.

Μadder

The red colour that gives our rice is usually the tile, with shades up to pale pink. But we can produce many shades if we use darker threads, dyed with other greens, and give them a second dye with rice. We find it by digging in the soil and recognising it by its red colour. Its surface leaf is similar to the almond leaf, except that it is harder and rougher. It belongs to the condyloid. It grows in thick and wet fields, vineyards, and gardens. Now it is not well known for its pigments, although it is found in many villages.

Collection

The best time to collect it is in October and November. The colour it gives us depends on the area where we collected it. The basic colour it gives us is tile, but it can also give a bright red colour, as well as purple. After collecting the roots, we wash them well and dry them in the room, especially in the shade and, after they are well dried, we store them in a mesh bag. It is maintained too much. We also use it fresh.

Instructions

• Put the crushed roots in water and let them soak overnight.
• The next day, place the pot with the softened roots and the same water on the fire and slowly raise the temperature to 60^o.
• Rice should never be boiled. Keep this temperature for an hour.
• Σtrain the dye liquid, let it cool until your hand accepts it, and then put the wool in it. Slowly raise the temperature to 60^o and hold it at that level for another hour, stirring the yarn frequently.
• Pull the wool and let it dry with the dye. Then rinse it with plenty of water until the water runs clear. Even better, soap it with pure soap and rinse well.

Recipe

• 500 gr of fresh roots. If the roots are dry: 400 gr.
• 1 kg of dry yarn
• Two or three spoonfuls of squeeze.

If the roots are fresh, we take them and pound them, so that they break and soften a little. We can do this in a stone mortar or down on the floor. If the roots are dry, put them in hot water for a few hours, then drain and pound them, just like fresh ones.

We then put them in the cauldron with water and let them boil enough. Then pour enough cold water, boil the thread, wet it with the squeeze, mix it with the roots and let it boil several times, stirring it from time to time. When it boils enough, take it off the heat and let it cool. When it cools down well, we drain it, shake it, let the roots fall, pound them again, put them in the cauldron in the same water and continue to dye in the same way and we have a second shade. Always in the same way we have three and four shades up to pale pink. That is, with the above quantity, we can dye up to 4 kg of yarn. With rice in the same way we can dye threads that we have previously dyed with other grasses, such as threads dyed with a beautiful leaf or with hibiscus flowers and they give us a nice "grena".

Also, yarn dyed and rinsed from pomegranates gives us a light brown colour and yarn dyed and rinsed from walnuts gives us a dark colour.

Stripped, so that the outer paint that holds the thread is gone, so that it can cleanly pull the paint from the rice. In the same way, we bring out their shades. After painting, we dry it and after a day or two we rinse it well, shake it so that the roots fall, if any are left and let it dry and it is ready for use.

Indigo

Indigo is neither a flower nor a plant, it is a chemical preparation. It is used by large textile companies. We can get it from stores that sell paints.

Indigo comes from the leaves of a plant that has been cultivated in India since ancient times. It is mentioned in Indian manuscripts of the 4th century. e.g. The Arabs brought it to the Mediterranean in 119 c. In the past, they dyed blue with a flower, so they asked for what they also put in the washing of clothes. Now they replaced it with a chemical that doesn't give us dye, that's why we ask for indigo.

We also strengthen the indigo with a little hydrosulfite, which is also a chemical preparation and we will ask for it from the same shops. It helps the paint to become indelible. The most important dye substance in its leaves is colourless and comes out with hot water. Oxygen from the air turns it blue. There is also synthetic indigo.

Instructions

• Take 25-30 gr of pimpled indigo flower, for one kilogram of thread.
• In a container, preferably glass or white plastic, put a little warm water, 1-2 kg, pour the flower - indigo, and mix it gently, with a glass or plastic stick, until it dissolves well. Copper stains will be created that will cover the entire surface.
• Leave it for about a quarter and then we put in the cauldron as much water as is needed for the thread, as in all dyes, we heat it until it becomes lukewarm, up to 30^o,
• Throw in the mixture of (indigo) and at the same time a spoonful, not too full, of hydrosulfite, which we get from a pharmacy, dissolved in warm water, mix it gently and place it on a very low heat until it reaches about 30^o.
• Leave it for about 10 mins, without boiling.
• At this stage, we will see that it does not take the dye, but when we lift a wooden stick above the cauldron and try to open it with our hands, we will see that it gives us the blue colour we expect.
• If we wanted a darker blue, we did it again, after adding more flowers.
• In the same way, we continue the shades up to the soft siel.
• After the dyeing is finished, we drain it, leave it for several hours, rinse it with lots of water until the water comes out clean - and dry it in the shade.

Note: If we want to make green ones, our thread must first be dyed yellow, with tangerine or pomegranate or almond leaves or false yellowhead etc.

Almond leaves

Canary Yellow

Collection

After harvesting the fruit, we collect the leaves, in September-October. If we use them immediately, it's fine, otherwise, we lay them in a room and, after drying, they remain green, so we store them in a mesh bag and use them when we want. This is true of most grasses, roots and flowers.

• 700 gr fresh almond leaves, 400 gr. reef.
• 1 kg of yarn
• 2-3 spoonfuls of a squeeze for wetting.

Execution: Put the leaves in the cauldron with water to boil enough. Then we put cold water and the thread that we have prepared and let it boil several times along with the leaves. Then take it off the heat and let it cool. We dry it and then one. two days we rinse it, dry it and it is ready for use. If you want a second shade you will repeat in the same way and with the same leaves. The third shade comes out very soft. We also dye with indigo and it gives us a nice green or purple colour.