Botanical Dye Starter Guide
$5.00
A 17-plant guide to natural dyeing with what you already have — kitchen scraps, backyard weeds, and easy-to-grow garden plants for US Zones 5–7. Includes a mordant guide, step-by-step dye process, and full color reference. Instant PDF download. $5.
You don't need a dye garden or a fiber studio to start working with natural color. You need onion skins saved in a paper bag, avocado pits from last week's guacamole, and a pot you'll never use for cooking again.
This guide covers 17 dye plants across three categories — kitchen and pantry, garden, and foraged — selected for US Hardiness Zones 5–7. Every plant is beginner-accessible, regionally relevant, and paired with the exact information you need to get color onto fiber the first time.
What's inside:
- 6 kitchen and pantry dye plants — yellow onion skins, avocado pits and skins, red onion skins, black bean soak water, turmeric, and used coffee grounds — no garden required
- 8 garden dye plants for Zones 5–7 — coreopsis, marigold, goldenrod, black-eyed Susan, dyer's chamomile, weld, Japanese indigo, and purple basil — with planting and harvest notes
- 3 foraged plants from our backyard — black walnut, staghorn sumac, and curly dock — with foraging ethics and ID tips
- Mordant guide — alum, iron, tannin, and no-mordant plants explained in plain language
- Step-by-step basic dye process — from scouring fiber through washing and drying
- Full color reference chart — all 17 plants with color result, mordant, plant parts, and harvest season at a glance
Purchase once, download immediately, keep forever. No subscription, no account required.
From the studio of Blue Thistle Fibers — the only production-scale fiber mill and natural dye teaching space in the New River Gorge region.
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Level 1: Foundations – Mordanting & Natural Dyeing
Original price was: $55.00.$45.00Current price is: $45.00.
Level 1: Foundations – Mordanting & Natural Dyeing
Original price was: $55.00.$45.00Current price is: $45.00.Learn the essential foundation technique that makes all botanical printing work: proper mordanting. Work with regional dye plants in small-batch pots. Create color samples. This is where real natural dyeing begins.
Duration: 2.5 hours
 $45 (Early bird pricing through one month before workshop date then $55)
Location: Blue Thistle Fibers Natural Dye Studio, 314 Main Street, Gauley Bridge, WV
Class Size: Limited to 12 students
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Level 3: Natural Dyeing from Your Garden & Kitchen — Fall Session
Original price was: $55.00.$45.00Current price is: $45.00.
Level 3: Natural Dyeing from Your Garden & Kitchen — Fall Session
Original price was: $55.00.$45.00Current price is: $45.00.A 3-hour hands-on exploration of the fall dye garden: goldenrod, marigold, black walnut, amaranth, and more. Grow and forage your own dye materials, learn the critical difference between fugitive and lightfast colors, and trace the historical dye plants of Europe into the Appalachian landscape. Taught by Sara Loftus, Ph.D. Workshop 4 of 12 in the Botanical Printing Path year-long series. Capacity: 15 participants. Prior experience is welcome but not required.
15 in stock
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Level 2: Bundle Dyeing with Botanicals
Original price was: $75.00.$65.00Current price is: $65.00.
Level 2: Bundle Dyeing with Botanicals
Original price was: $75.00.$65.00Current price is: $65.00.Learn bundle dyeing with regional dye plants at our Gauley Bridge Natural Dye Studio & Fiber Mill. Wrap fabric with botanicals and modifiers, then steam to create layered impressions. Water-wise technique perfect for small-batch work.
Duration: 3 hours
Investment: $65 (Early bird pricing through April then $75
Prerequisites: None (Foundations workshop helpful but not required)
Class Size : Limited to 12
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