6 August 20265 min read
Notes on dyeing linen with what is in the garden
Onion skins, madder root and a very patient afternoon. Our first season of natural dye, written down honestly.
By Ines Vogel, Textiles
We started with onion skins because they were free and forgiving. Two large handfuls, an hour at a low simmer, and the linen came out a warm amber that no synthetic had managed.
Madder was harder. The reds are gorgeous and the margin for error is thin: let the bath boil and you lose the clarity for a flat brick tone.
Everything here fades a little, and that is the point. A dyed cloth that shifts over five years is telling you something a colourfast one never will.