Crafting: Experimenting With Natural Dyes

If you know me, you know I am a big fan of textile art. I love working with and creating textiles. A nice Spring/Summer project I've recently been exploring is using natural dyes on old clothes.

I have many, MANY white tops and t shirts that just don't get worn unless I'm on holiday. No one has time to do an only-white-wash every week, am I right?! I also struggle with white clothing as I'm clumsy and and I often end up staining them. So, I gave some old white tops a fresh burst of colour—with nothing but turmeric, black tea, and a little creativity. What started as a plain piece in the bottom of my laundry pile is now a warm, earthy, tie-dye piece of art.

Now, let me just say: I’m not an expert in natural dyeing by any means. I’m simply sharing my own process, which is by no means flawless or perfectly scientific. It was more of a playful, curious experiment, and honestly, that’s part of the magic.

First, I soaked the top in cool water for a couple of hours. This step is essential—natural dyes take much better to damp fabric, helping the colours really sink in and soften beautifully.

While the fabric was soaking, I boiled a large pot of water and added about 3 tablespoons (give or take) of turmeric powder. I let it simmer for 30 minutes, then turned it down to low heat to keep it warm and ready.

With my top nice and damp, I wrung it out gently and twisted it into a spiral, securing it with rubber bands to create a classic tie-dye pattern (there are many youtube videos that explain how to do this and honestly it's so easy you can't go wrong). Then came the fun part: dyeing!

I let the top sit in the turmeric dye bath for around an hour, then rinsed it carefully in cold water with a splash of vinegar to help set the colour. I then allowed the top to dry (in a shady area away from direct sunlight). The result was this below:

I liked the result but I felt that maybe the yellow was a bit too yellow-y for me. So I decided to darken the colour with black tea. I brewed a strong pot of black tea using 6–8 tea bags. This created a rich, vintage-toned dye that I planned to use for contrast. After about 30 minutes of the tea brewing, take the tea bags out. I repeated the process with the back tea bath (dampen the cloth, twist and spiral and then let it sit for about 30 minutes). After that, dry just like before away from direct sunlight.

The final result? A dreamy blend of ochre and antique brown, like sunlit earth. It’s totally unique, eco-friendly, and feels like I brought something forgotten back to life using nothing but pantry staples.

I was so inspired by the process that I ended up doing another T-shirt with just black tea dye and I bloody love it!

One thing to keep in mind: natural dyes like turmeric and tea are beautifully alive, but they do fade over time - especially with lots of washing or direct sunlight. I personally love that aspect. It makes the clothing feel a bit like a living piece of art, softening and shifting with time.

Next up: experimenting with blueberries and avocado skins —nature’s rainbow is calling.

Tash x