Chamomile

CHAMOMILE

Yellow is one of the easiest colours to achieve from natural dyes, but dyeing with chamomile is a joy. Not only are the plants easy to grow, they are also an attractive plant in the garden, they smell good to humans, and are attractive to bees too. This is the method we use for our woollen yarn.

1. Harvest flower heads to be used fresh or dried, for best results pick mature flowers (the seed head will be domed and the petals starting to bend back.

2. You will need around 300g plant material for 100g of fibre.

3. If using dried flowers soak overnight in tap water.

4. Add 2litres of water and simmer for an hour, allow to cool.

5. Strain the flowers and squeeze to remove as much liquid as possible.

6. Place the pre-soaked and mordanted yarn into the resultant dye bath immerse and keep on the heat for another hour.

7. Allow to dry completely before washing.

Dried Chamomile 100g - £4.99