Textile NewsNatural Dyes on Display A natural dye sampler board has been donated to the Textile Center by Vernice Myers, long-time textile artist from Cody. The sampler board displays hand-spun wools from Wyoming sheep. The woods have been dyed with natural plants. For centuries, plants, berries, barks and nuts have been used to dye fibers. European immigrants as well as Native Americans were familiar with dye plants. These natural dyes fade easily. Early dyers found ways to "set" the color using heat, minerals and chemicals from nature. Many plants and flowers made greens and yellows. Black walnuts created the common dark brown dye. Red came from the roots of the madder plant, but the deepest red came from a ground-up South American insect (cochineal). The dark blue so popular in Colonial America was from the indigo plant. It was "set" with urine, and every Colonial weaver kept a pot of urine at the back of the garden to use for dye. The sampler board has more than 100 samples. |