What are "raw plant materials" & why do I use them to dye yarn?

Hey there!

I am so excited that you’ve taken the time to stop by my first blog post. Thank you! Forager Fiber Studio would not be a thing without you and your support. 

I wanted to start a blog in order to share in a longer-form way about what I do, why, and even my recommendations for different topics regarding yarn and wool. I find social media to be limiting in what I can share as well as find myself wanting to know more about artists’ processes, their ideologies, etc. In this format we can dive deeper together and engage in more meaningful conversations on these topics.

If you have any topics or suggestions you would like to see here, let me know! You can email them to me or shoot me a DM on Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok. 

Ethically-Produced Yarns Dyed with Raw Plant Materials

You have maybe noticed the above phrase on my yarn labels or in my marketing materials and may (or may not) have wondered, “What does that even mean?” Let’s dive in.

First and foremost, I am a natural dyer, or someone who uses dye materials derived from plants. This is different from what are sometimes referred to as “chem dyes” or “acid dyes.” These have been chemically manufactured and, though at one point they may have had some sort of plant source, have been chemically manipulated enough that they are no longer considered as such. 

Natural dyers on the other hand use dyes that come from plant materials. These come in a few different forms including extracts, powdered, or (what I use) raw material. 

1. Extracts

Extracts mean the work of dye creation is done for you. They come in a powdered or liquid form and simply need to be mixed with water to create a dye that can then be added to your pot or pan with the prepared yarn. They tend to be the most expensive, but are very consistent and reliable.

2. Powders

Powders are ground up dye materials. They still need to be heated in water to extract the dye, but can offer greater color saturation per quantity due to the increased surface area. They also take up less space and are easier to dispose of when finished. Though slightly less consistent than extracts in my experience, they are still easier to tweak and fine tune.

3. Raw Plant Materials

Raw plant materials are flowers, roots, barks, seeks, husks, shells, leaves, and other plant substances that come either fresh or dried. These are added to the pot with plenty of water and heated to extract the pigment before being added to a dye pot with prepared yarn. They are chaos dyeing. Don’t get me wrong, I am very precise with my weights, timings, and temperatures, but I cannot control how much sun the plant I am using got, its rate of water absorption, nor its soil content, all of which impact the final color rendered on the yarn. How exciting! 

Why raw plant materials?

Despite raw plant materials being less predictable, I, as a natural dyer, find myself gravitating towards using them for a few different reasons. 

1. Herbalism Origins

One of the reasons I got into natural dyeing in the first place was because of one of my closest friends’ hobby herbalism practice. Though not formally certified, she has long had a beautiful relationship with herbs and their medicinal uses. She often practices by applying different principles to herself. When we would walk or hike together, she would be able to identify so many of the plants we came across, their medicinal uses, and the best time to harvest various parts (such as leaves or flowers) for the highest efficacy. This fascinated me and I quickly became interested in what I was seeing on my daily walks.

2. The Dogwood Dyer

If you are familiar with Rebecca Desnos’ (@thedogwooddyer) work, you know she is a master of raw material natural dyeing. Around the same time I became aware of the plants I was seeing daily, I came across her work. Something in me clicked. I was enthralled by the natural color palette, its subtleties and seasonal shifts, and the fact that literal weeds and kitchen waste could be used to create beautiful yarn. It didn’t take long for me to buy her book “Botanical Color at Your Fingertips” and just dive in head first. 

3. THE COLORS

You can create a beautiful color palette with any kind of dye, whether it be natural or chemical. However, the raw material color palette resonates so deeply with me. The soft, muted tones make my soul sing. I often say that it is a wild experience to see what lives in your head come to life in the physical world. If I could, I’d make my whole world my natural dye color palette. You of course can get so many deep, rich colors from natural dyeing, but when it comes to using raw materials this becomes more difficult. The sheer amount of plant material it takes to create such colors gave me pause about what it means to consume ethically and to avoid overconsumption. Dyed material, whether it be fabric or yarn, becomes rather precious. When you are gardening or foraging your dye stuff, you cannot take more from the plant than is healthy. This is important for its longevity and health, which ensures your continued use of that plant. Because of this, I have become so much more aware of how much I am consuming, and in an effort to do so respectfully and ethically have been led to the color palette I have developed and use today. But let’s be real…this color palette is incredible, so I am inclined to say “thank you” to the plants and what they have led me to develop in my dyeing practice.

4. Connection to  Nature

For me, nothing beats the feeling of gathering flowers or leaves from the garden, yard, or a foraging site and watching them magically transform into gorgeous yarn. I just can't get over the rush that comes from that. If I didn’t use raw material, this experience wouldn’t be available to me. I wouldn’t be stalking the plants creeping through the cracks in the sidewalk in front of my house or the weeds that pop up in early spring. I wouldn’t be paying close attention to what was around me on my hikes, searching for a dye material I don’t have access to frequently. It puts me in the present moment. In addition, slowing down to watch a dye plant’s color transform seasonally helps me feel so grounded and connected to the natural world in a way I don’t find elsewhere. 

Learn with Me

Using raw plant materials in the way that I do is unique. There are as many ways to naturally dye as there are dyers and no one person is more correct than the other (one of my favorite things about being in this industry). This post is just a glimpse into my system and the process that resonates with me. 

If you are curious about learning about my process and would like to try it out yourself, I would love to have you join my Intro to Natural Dyeing class on July 12, 2025.