Goldenrod Dyeing - A Pot of Gold

When we moved to our place in the country, we bought 10 acres: 7 wooded ("The Forest") and 3 acres of cleared land. On the "front three" we planted a large vegetable garden and dutifully mowed the rest until it occurred to us that we did not really use all that lawn, so we let much of it go ("The Meadow"). Many plants and small critters took up residence there, especially goldenrod, which had escaped my notice until I started to use plants to dye fabric.

Oh my! I knew that goldenrod (solidago canadiensis for you Latin nerds) is valued for being an especially wash- and lightfast natural dye, and it turns out I have an abundance of it right at my doorstep! Actually, "abundance" is a gross understatement. I think I have enough to supply an entire Minions factory! I needn't fear that my neighbour's bees will go hungry, no matter how much I harvest! Here you see my meadow with the goldenrod in full bloom.

“The Meadow” (and “the dog”)

Goldenrod is also a very easy plant to use as a dye. The best time to harvest it is when the flowers are in full bloom but before they begin to fade and turn brown. Here is my harvested pot of gold:

To extract the dye, I cooked the flowers in rainwater for an hour or so and then turned the heat off and soaked them overnight to get every bit of that golden goodness out of them. I dyed three different weights of cotton fabric and was hoping to have three different shades of colour for each by using three dye baths, but the dye was so strong there was hardly any difference between the dye baths!

Just to back up and give the full picture. I mordanted all the fabric in a tannin bath of sumac leaves (also from "The Meadow") and then in Alum.  I may have gone overboard on the sumac leaves because the fabric was already a bit yellow when the mordanting was complete.

It’s a shame the computer screen cannot reproduce the vivid yellow of the dyed fabric. Modeled on the pretty ladies below, you can see the range of possible colours produced in last year’s goldenrod dye pot: from a dark golden mustard to a pale, buttery cream. I love them all!

About Me

Hello! I am new to this blogging thing, so here's a little bit about me by way of introduction. I'm Dorothy, and I live with my spouse in rural southern Ontario (Canada). We did not always live in the country, and I did not always create things for a living. I used to live in Toronto, which is a fine city, as cities go, but bit by bit I outgrew my garden, and we found ourselves taking drives into the surrounding countryside for berry-picking and walks in the woods. The air was cleaner, and the pace of life slower and more connected to the earth. So a few years ago, when we could manage it, we made the move. What a difference 100 kilometers can make! Our property has plenty of room to grow things, go for a walk with the dog, and to get into all kinds of mischief of the crafty, creative kind. I began making dolls which forced me to brush up on my sewing, knitting and embroidery skills. Most recently I have become entranced with dyeing fabric naturally, with plants, many of which grow right in our backyard! The spouse built me a nice outdoor dyery, and I'm off and running making colourful fabrics. So if you want to know what's it's like to get back to making things by hand in a way that does not harm Nature or exploit other humans, you may want to come along with me for the ride!