This weekend, after dyeing wool with a different mushroom (more to come...) I sat down at the computer to find more information about what I had just worked with and came across an incredible blog that has changed the way I look at mushroom dyeing. Shroomworks' blog is amazing and I read it front to back all in one sitting.
She mentioned in one of her posts about lobster mushrooms that she used washing soda in the dye bath. She was getting lovely colors, much deeper than the pale peach and yellows I've gotten, and I was inspired to try again. Our lobsters are now past-prime for eating (eating mushrooms trumps dyeing with them, for me) so I gathered up the mushy and bug-eaten for the dye pot.
I started by cutting just the orange outer skin from the mushrooms, another of her tips, and put them in my dye pot with some water. I let the pot simmer while I mushed up the mushroom chunks with my pastry cutter. When things started looking soupy, I added a few sprinkles of washing soda and kapow! Color!
I was so excited at the colors I got that I did several exhausts, resulting in various shades of pink and fuschia. I dyed large pieces of silk and fine merino with the hopes of making a nuno scarf, because how cool would that be?! I also dyed a small amount of cotton floss and a piece of vintage doily. I love them all.
Even though I'm not much of a pink person, I am beyond thrilled with these results. I've frozen the lobster mushroom chunks as I think they have more color to give, and I'm sure to revisit this again. I can't wait.
23 comments:
Those colours are gorgeous!
Wow, it's like alchemy!
How amazing color. I wanna to try. Thanks for sharing.
i'm not a pink person either, but THAT shade of pink i can definitely live with. i especially like the various shades and tints of roving(?) in the wooden bowl. yummmee!
Wow! They hardly look like natural colour because they're so vibrant. Washing soda??? Sounds like another item that might be hard to track down in the UK. Perhaps it has a different name here. I'm loving all your dyeing colours, those previous blues are amazing too.
Jx
I am jumping up and down with enthusiasm, Lisa! The colors are stunning! Thanks for the mushroom info link, too, btw.
I am a pink person and i love the thinks you made with the mushrooms.
greeting from holland
I'M A PINK PERSON! I'M A PINK PERSON! Especially that fuchsia pink - luscious. Just luscious.
whoaaaa that came from mushrooms?!! AMAZING
To tell you the truth, I am more fascinated with the idea of dyeing with mushrooms than the colors they produce! I loved the peach and yellow of your previous batch and I also love the colors you got with the soda!
Now I started wondering: Do you think you can use dried mushrooms to the same result? And do you think one could use mushrooms to dye easter eggs?
Poor pink, getting a bad rap. It's all in the pairing. Hot pink as Barbie's Corvette, not so great. Hot pink paired with anthracite grey or a rich cocoa brown, a totally different ballgame.
as i said on flickr, you got some gorgeous colours there. and thanks for the tip on the shroomworks blog - i think it will be especially helpful for me as she is just across the water from where i live (and actually in a place i used to live), so i should have most of the same 'shrooms.
Wow, what kerpow! A triumpantly successful experiment, Lisa.
Wow, I am amazed and delighted with these colors! Such fun to learn that washing soda is like a magic dye ingredient!
I am Very Much a pink person and have been doing some nature dyeing myself. So, much fun. Raspberry pinks, cobalt blues , and purples I LOVE ... Thanks for the info but don't know where I'll find those mushrooms around here in Burr NE. However, we have seen some strange ones this year . Thanks for sharing.
I'm inspired!
Aha! My question from your post from the other day is answered. Am putting your blog in my feed reader! I have a couple of other mushroom/dye blogs in there... send me an email, I'll send you the urls. Also, are you in Ravelry? There's two forums about dyeing with plants/natural dyes that would interest you.
I think they're beautiful!
This color is amazing! I will have to keep my eye out for this type of mushroom. It's really interesting that different ways of doing the same thing can yield various results.
magic mushroom dyeing:)
Those are some of the prettiest pinks I have seen, Lisa. Good job.
Thank you all so much! This was a very fun and rewarding experiment.
Kanelstrand - I'm not sure how mushrooms would do on easter eggs. If you planned to eat them you wouldn't want to use any mordants on them, of course. Worth a try though... I have used turmeric, onion skins, and cabbage so maybe it's time for mushrooms.
Lisa - I'm not active on Ravelry but I'd love to get your other dyeing blog recommendations. I'll follow up with you, thanks!
Amazing colours!!! I would prefer to eat lobster mushrooms than dye with them but for the ones that are too old/mushy for eating, I'll definitely keep this in mind. So excited to read more posts about dying with mushrooms on your blog!
P.S I'm new here. Found you via googling mushroom dying blogs!
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