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A Visit to Green Matters Natural Dye Company

~ Catharine Ellis ~ 5 Comments

We headed out recently for, what has become, our annual trip to New England. I always try to include a stop at a “place of interest”. Last year I contacted Winona Quigley at Green Matters Natural Dye Company in Pennsylvania. She was very welcoming and I was pretty much in “awe” of what she was doing there and, as a result, didn’t make a single note, or take a single picture. 

This year, I arranged to stop by again, with the idea of documenting her operation a bit and sharing her story. 

Green Matters Natural Dye Company is a small scale dye house that uses natural dyes exclusively to dye garments for their customers.  

Winona Quigley, founder and owner of the company, studied fashion at Parsons but she has been thinking about sustainability and natural dyeing for a long time. When it came time for her to do a “capstone” project, she wanted to design a line of naturally dyed clothing. This eventually evolved into The Green Matters Natural Dye Company, which began its first dyeing in pots at Winona’s mother’s house in Lancaster County PA 10 years ago. The current location of the dyeworks is still in Lancaster PA, an area known for its beautiful farms and agriculture,  and where a horse and buggy is a common site on the road. But the dyeing here is all small scale industrial. 

Site of the “Dye Works” from the road
View out the back of the Dye Works
View out the back of the Dye Works

The Dye Works operation is approached from the back of the building and truly looks like a small industry.  The telltale sign that we had found the right place was the buckets of avocado pits, which looked like they’s been cooked to extract their color. 

Entrance to Green Matters Natural Dye Company

The company does some work with designers to develop small lines of custom natural colored garments but a very popular and important focus is the “Dye Color of the Month” program. Dye color blends are developed by the dye team and are most often an interesting mix of more than one dye plant (such as “rum raisin” made from cutch and madder or “ochre made from cutch and weld). Customers send in their own clothing (and even bed linens) which can be given a renewed life with a fresh, naturally sourced color. The dye team will unpack the garment, mordant when needed, and then apply the chosen dye color(s). Colors are sourced from both plant materials and natural dye extracts. Tie-dyeing is also an option, either in the initial garment dyeing, or as a more subtle post dye process. 

Each garment is dyed individually in indigo by Cara in an iron vat, and then carefully hosed off (with rain water) to rinse between immersions in the vat.  Color mixes often include very carefully dyed shades of indigo, followed by mordanting and subsequent dyeing.

Mordants and mordant dyes are applied in small dyeing “machines,” like open top washing machines. These particular machines were custom fabricated for a small industry but were never used. Green Matters located them in storage when they were ready to expand from using dyepots at Winona’s mother’s home to their current location. The machines keep the garments in continuous motion, assuring the most even mordanting and dyeing possible. This kind of piece dyeing is impossible to do well in a studio dye pot. Much more sophisticated machines are used in industry today but these older machines do the job well. 

Winona Quiqley with one of the larger of the dye machines. The two paddles in the machine keep garments separated and moving evenly during the dying.
Sulfur cosmos from Winona’s garden
Avocado pitts after cooking to extract color. Sometimes they are even uses as a tannin for double mordanting

The concept of refreshing our old garments with color is smart. If you are like me, we all have too many clothes. Some of them are loved, and will continue to serve us with a little “tweaking”. You may have a well-made and cherished garment, but it’s faded, sun bleached, stained, etc. Perhaps its light color is not practical for gardening, farming, or working in the studio. Vintage garments can be given a new life with a contemporary color. Re-dyeing is making a conscious choice by countering the pervasiveness of fast fashion. I often re-dye garments myself but am always plagued by the issue of uneven dyeing, as I am limited to dyeing in pots.

 

As I was leaving, Winona was getting ready to make some electrical repairs to the small dyeing machine. We learn to do EVERYTHING in our studios!

Water used for dyeing is all rain water, collected in cisterns underneath the building. The dye machines, which are energy efficient, use the same motor as a dairy mixer, and are easily maintained in a farming community.  

Several things that truly impressed me:

  • Choice of dyes. Green Matters seems to consistently make good choices about which dyes to use for the most long lasting colors. And they are combined in beautiful ways.
  • The use of rain water. We all know that dyeing requires LOTS of water at every step. Doing this using a renewable resource not only saves $$ but is just smart!
  • The re-purposing of dye machines and the ability to keep them maintained and working. 

So, do consider sending a favorite natural fiber garment to Green Matters for a “facelift”. Far better that we promote a company such as this, than purchase yet another garment. Here is where to learn everything you need to know. Invest in a new color for yourself! The ordering process is easy, the choices are clear, and they will send you a mailing label to ship off your garment. And occasionally, Green Matters hold in-person classes, where perhaps you can dye your own clothing.

Garments after dyeing. Note the very subtle tie-dye effect on the shirt.
Packages with dyed textiles ready to mail back to customers.

In order to truly understand how the process with Green Matters Dye Company plays out, I brought a favorite skirt of my daughters – it WAS pink and stained and thus she never wore it. She had asked me to dye it but I don’t have a pot big enough to even hope to get it dyed well. Green Matters Dye Company sent it back to us transformed, dyed in “rum raisin”, which is a combination of cutch and madder and lightly treated with iron in a “tie dyed” design, in order to further camouflage the original staining. This post dye treatment is an option. Now it’s a skirt that she loves to wear – and it even came with care instructions.

If you are looking for a sustainable gift for a special someone this holiday season, consider gifting a dye lot. It will come with all you need to ship off a garment and give it a new life.

Dyeing as Chemistry

~ Catharine Ellis ~ 17 Comments

I am always trying to learn more about the natural dye process.  Mostly, this is to become a better dyer, but there is also an intellectual curiosity that keeps me asking questions, testing, and observing. Joy Boutrup, my co-author of The Art and Science of Natural Dyes, is a textile chemist and engineer. She has generously explained so much to me over the years, giving me a glimpse of the logic behind all of our dyeing processes, but never overwhelming me with the technicality of the chemistry. 

Last summer, Joy and I were  teaching at Penland School of Crafts at the same time as Tim McLaughlin and Charllotte Kwon of Maiwa. It was there I learned of the chemistry class for dyers that they had been developing. In a desire to learn more and expand my ability to understand process,  I enrolled in the class, Natural Dyes: Alchemy Chemistry Craft when it was offered for the first time. The class is presented in 18 separate  modules, each a seriously “deep dive” into electrons, molecules, acids, bases, and the nature of plants that we use in our processes. Each lesson is presented in video format by Tim and Charllotte with printable notes that link directly to the video script.

To be honest, much of it was over my head, as I do NOT have a chemical background.

The class is not a practical “how-to” of dyeing, but instead, a serious look into the principles behind the process.  As the lessons progressed, I found myself making connections and the processes that I know well were explained even further. There is a reason for each of the steps we use in the dye process, whether we see them, understand them, or not. 

Several of my colleagues also took the class. Early this year, when the class was offered for a second time, several other colleagues enrolled. So, a small group of 7 serious and curious dyers decided that we would go through the class together. This would give us an opportunity to discuss, compare notes, and work through the class together.  An enrolled student has three years to access the videos but the printable notes are yours forever, making them a valuable studio reference.

Our “Study Group” members are located all across the US.  We opted to do our watching/reading separately and come together once a week via zoom to discuss a single module.

We tried this for a few weeks, but then decided that we needed a deeper focus to smaller parts of each module. Each of us now takes on the responsibility to further explore, research, and understanding one (or two) aspects of a module. This allows for more in-depth research, more focused questions, and possible dye/process testing and observing. When we complete this series of modules, I do believe that we could start all over again, and still learn more about the dye/chemical process. 

Understanding and practicing natural dye is a never ending process. Learning WHY we do things is key to being our best as dyers. 

During the first chemistry class in the fall of 2023, we received the shocking and sad news that Tim McLaughlin had passed away very suddenly. No one in the Maiwa family or in our larger community of dyers was prepared for this. It made continuing with the class difficult at that time, but now I feel that we are honoring Tim by continuing to learn from what he has created. We miss him dearly.

I am awe of the work that Tim and Charllotte put into this class – in order to make all of us better dyers. 

Maiwa is offering the dye chemistry class once again this spring…. Serious dyers should consider taking this class and I would highly recommend working with a group of colleagues in the process. 

Link to Maiwa Teachable: Natural Dyes: Alchemy Chemistry Craft

Tim and Charllotte taught an ink making class at Penland School of Crafts in the summer 2023. At the same time, Joy and I were teaching a weaving and natural dye class together. We had so much to discuss after long days in the studios! This is where I first learned of Maiwa’s upcoming science class for dyers. 

Using My Studio Formulas Set of Cards

~ Catharine Ellis ~ 16 Comments

It’s been a busy summer, but it’s time to follow up on my earlier post about the recently released Studio Formulas Set dye recipe cards. I received my own set of dye and recipe cards from Schiffer just before Joy Boutrup arrived from Denmark for a class we taught together at Penland School of Crafts in June. Teaching together was a great opportunity to receive some feedback about the set. 

Every recipe from the book is represented by a single card. Additonal colored cards illustrate individual dyes and color mixing. We opted to use wool as “the fiber of choice” when creating the initial printed cards as it such a commonly used fiber. The dye cards in the collection document the most important dyes: indigo, madder, cochineal, and weld along with a couple other tannin based dyes.

The dye color cards are beautiful and just as I had imagined they would be. Schiffer did a superb job of reproducing my dyed wool samples in print. Color matching is perfect! I was told that it took several tries to get it just right. I can appreciate that kind of care and accuracy – the same care and precision that I put into my dyeing.  Although the cards are durably coated, it is easy to write on them with a ball point pen or ‘Sharpie” and there is room for personalized notes on the back of each card.

The cards come in a box that is custom made for the set.  It even has a magnetic clasp to keep it closed. BUT for me to get the most use out of the cards,  I removed the cards from the original box and placed them into a much larger file box. This allows plenty of room for flipping through the various recipe cards, adding tabs for easy reference, AND for adding my own customized cards to the collection. You might want to do the same.

Studio Formulas Set moved into a plastic file box, purchased for less than $10, with lots of room to expand. 

Having individually printed recipe cards is proving to be very convenient in my own dye studio. Instead of dripping dye all over my book, I now can pull out the required card and work from that. And, YES, I do use the recipes from the book and I don’t have every one of them memorized!

Studio Formulas Set moved into a plastic file box, purchased for less than $10, with lots of room to expand.
Multiple folds of Recipe #34: Indigo Print Paste

The use of cards containing easily referenced materials and samples has changed the way I work over the last several years. As you know, I am seemingly always testing dyes and process. Once I complete an initial set of tests (recorded in detail with samples in my lab notebook), I then mount the final samples on a card, filed for easy access and reference. 

Here is a great example of how useful this process can be: 

I recently I went to my dye shelf to look for pomegranate rind for a specific dye project. I found that I had 3 different extracts and two jars of ground pomegranate rind (including one that I had ground myself). Were they different? the same? After making samples of all the various pomegranate dyes (on both cellulose and wool)  I can now objectively see the subtle differences between each of these dye sources and make a better informed decision.

Having of a record on hand of the dyes in the studio is an essential discipline that takes the guess work out of the dyeing process. Whenever I obtain a new dyestuff (purchased or grown myself) my goal is to complete a test dye on the appropriate textile material. Sometimes that means dyeing several samples as I explore various depths of shade on different fibers. 

Documentation of the various pomegranate dyes on wool.

If one chooses to add actual cloth/fiber samples to the box, available space fills quickly. Thus, a larger, file box quickly becomes a necessity. Currently I have one box earmarked for documenting protein fibers and am building another that is dedicated to cellulose.

My personal (and expanding) box of dye samples on wool

Careful measurement of the dye used per weight of textile can result in greater control over the palette of color and discourages wasting of  dye. It has the potential of bringing natural dye to a level beyond experiment and discovery: controlled color. 

When Joy and I taught together at Penland in June, we used the cards throughout the session as a quick reference for dyeing in the class. By seeing (and understanding) the function of color mixing with natural  dyes, students were better able to predict the colors that they would ultimately achieve. I am sure that you will also find them a useful tool in your personal studio practice. 

Student experiments in weaving and dyeing at “Show and Tell” on the last day of our class at Penland.

A New Book from Dominque Cardon

~ Catharine Ellis ~ 11 Comments

Dominique Cardon, French researcher of natural dyes and author of the classic reference book, Natural Dyes: Sources Tradition, Technology and Science, has just provided dyers another important resource and insight into the natural dye process:  Workbook, Antoine Janot’s Colours

For several years, Cardon has been translating and publishing a series of books that document the work of 18th century French dyers. The 18th century was the classical period of wool dyeing in France. Last year, Des Couleurs pour les Lumières. Antoine Janot, Teinturier Occitan 1700-1778 was released, but only in French. This book was based on the original dye notebooks of Antoine Janot, a professional dyer from the Occitan region of the country.

Workbook, Antoine Janot’s Colours, which Dominique wrote in collaboration with her daughter Iris Brémaud, begins by providing background information on Janot and a description of the project. The most useful part of this small book to dyers is its practical nature.  It includes a full palette of Janot’s colors and their recipes along with process information. It is written in both French and English.

Both books are published by CNRS EDITIONS

The dyed colors are represented as visuals that were matched from actual wool samples from the original notebooks. Cardon used a color analyzer and the CIELAB system to accurately portray each hue. CIELAB is an international system that scientifically analyzes colors by using a system of coordinates to “map” them graphically and very precisely.

Descriptions of mordanting and dyeing include % weight of dye materials along with other additions that were made to the baths. In some cases, helpfully, an explanation of the WHY is included. 

Examples of green colors in the book which use indigo as a base.
Examples of mixed colors in the book that do not use indigo

The key to some of the color palette is a full gradation of indigo blues, from the very palest to very deep. Each blue has its own name such as “crow’s wing” (the very darkest) to “off-white blue” (the very palest). The CIELAB system allows an accurate visual description of each of these blues. 

Dominique Cardon, showing and discussing her research into the shades of indigo dyed wool at the TSA Symposium, 2014

These blue shades are critical to achieving greens, purples and greys.  Instructions for mixed colors designate which blue to start with. A full range of indigo blues, from lightest to darkest, is not an easy thing to accomplish. I have been working on that very thing consistently for the last months in my own studio, so it is especially meaningful to me right now.

Blue value tests done using different indigo vats in my own studio.
Indigo blues on woven cotton/linen from my own studio. This is a work in progress. The palest colors are the most challenging.

I have recently been doing color replication work for logwood purple using a combination of indigo and cochineal. A systematic approach to dyeing the initial indigo blues is a huge help in approaching this kind of color matching.

Attempt at matching logwood with a combination of indigo and cochineal (the cotton ties reveals which is which)

It is rare to be able to gain such a deep insight into a professional dyer’s process and results. Historical color descriptions, such as “wine soup”, “celadon green”, and “crimson” become more than just words on a page when colors are able to be seen accurately with the eye. 

For dyer’s looking for a deeper insight into the world of professional natural dye, this book is a treasure. 

I ordered my copy directly from France and it took several weeks to arrive.  According to Charlotte Kwon, the book will also soon be available from Maiwa.