It's a Sustainable and Eco Friendly Dyeing Process
We all know the benefits of wool for warmth, its ability to absorb water vapour thus keeping the wearer dryer for longer. Its breathable and resistant to odour. On top of all these great properties it is also very beautiful and to wear something you have created be it a jumper, cardigan, scarf or beanie gives you a real sense of pride and ownership. Here at Forgotten Arts Yarn we also believe that something so naturally amazing needs to be treated with love and care so using natural botanical products further enhance wools beauty.
As much as possible we use everyday organic products to colour the wool such as beetroot, onion skins and cabbage to name a few. Of course the real benefit here is that not only are these sustainable eco friendly products but my crazy husband also gets to eat the beetroot once the colour has eked into the dyeing vat. A real plus as far as he's concerned. Nothing is wasted in this process. The veggie matter is put into the compost bin, the colour is absorbed by the wool and the waste water is used to water the garden
You can see above the amount of dye which is left in the dye pot after the dyeing process has happened, and the rich colour of the wool to the left. My new product "Purple Rain" is a double knit Merino wool dyed using Logwood, a native plant of Central America.
This weekend we also went foraging with renowned forager Peter Langland and a group of people up at Ti Point in the Rodney District. I really want to extend my knowledge of NZ bush and so spent a lovely few hours foraging along the coastal walkway identifying flora which can be used in both cooking and (hopefully) in my dye pot. You may have seen my NZ bush inspired contribution to the website with the harakeke pod dyeing of the 4 ply Organic Merino/Polwarth Blend yarn in the colour Lucille Ball. A really beautiful rich auburn colour. Can't wait to try out some of the other plant matter to see what colours are unleashed once they make their magic in my dye pot.
Oh by the way the socks are finished and are making their way to my sock drawer. Looking forward to having a new pair ready to wear when the weather gets a bit cooler. Until next time .....
