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Dyeing with Turmeric
Turmeric is highly valued in natural medicine as well as textiles. Its gorgeous color and healing properties have earned it the nickname “Indian solid gold”- indeed it has quite the reputation.
In the context of Ayurveda healing, turmeric is believed to help “purify the blood” and help with a number of ailments in the skin, heart, liver and lungs. This makes it the perfect raw material for Ayurveda dyeing, combining both beauty and function.
If you’ve used turmeric before you may have noticed it can give your hands a bit of a stain with its bright yellow colour. What you may not know is turmeric has been used as a fabric dye for hundreds of years.
Dyeing with turmeric has been around for centuries and dyeing with natural ingredients is not only fun and creative, its messy, so our first tip, is…… YES, wear the appropriate protective clothing.
Dyeing clothes with Turmeric is great way for beginners to start as it produces vibrant warm yellow colour on natural fabrics. You can turmeric dye cotton, silk and wool. The colour does fade quickly when washed a lot, so be mindful of this and we suggest washing the turmeric dyed fabric n its own just in case.
Ingredients:
- Natural Fabric such as cotton, linen, silk
- Turmeric Powder (BUY HERE)
- Water
Method:
- Bring a medium/ large pot of water to simmering heat
- Add 1/4 to 3/4 cup of turmeric (depending of the density of yellow desired) to the pot and simmer for 20-30 mins
- Submerge your fabric in solution.
- Bring to boil and let simmer for approximately 1 hour. This will allow the dye to take to the fabric.
- Remove pot from heat and remove fabric from pot placing it into a colander style pot. If you don’t have one then the kitchen sink is fine. (Remember, porcelain and ceramic may stain so best to use a stainless steel sink!)
- Rinse thoroughly to remove any excess powder
- Hang to dry
Time to do some patterns! You can do this by folding, tying rubber bands around twisted pieces of the fabric or even using string to tie up parts.
Take your piece of fabric or clothing item and submerge in the turmeric solution using a wooden spoon to ensure all the fabric has even cover* (*not the case if dip dying!)
The longer the material soaks, the more vibrant it will be. We recommend checking at 3 minutes, and again every few minutes after, until the desired colour is achieved. Be conscious to ensure the fabric is fully submerged after every time it is checked to ensure even colour.
Once your fabric is at the desired colour, rinse the fabric in the sink (remember, porcelain and ceramic may stain so best to use a stainless steel sink!) until the water runs clear.
Voila! You have turmeric dyed fabric!
Tips:
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We suggest wearing rubber gloves and an apron due to avoid staining of your hands and clothes you are wearing!
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When choosing a piece of fabric or even an item of clothing to dye, try using light and undyed fabric as it will work better. You may even want to give the fabric or clothing a wash if you are buying new to remove any starch or anything else that may be present.
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This mixture makes a large amount of dye, so if you have any leftover, you can pop it into a glass jar and use for another project. Recommended shelf life is 1-2 weeks.
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When washing at a later date after using, be sure to wash on its own or with like colours. The colour will fade, as the most colour does, but it holds quite well if the procedure is followed.
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Have you dyed fabric with turmeric? We would love to see your creations.
