Introduction

Natural Dyes can be used in a multitude of ways, including in conjunction with papermaking. This text is designed to help the novice papermaker explore new horizons in their handmade paper journey by reconnecting with the Earth. While this information focuses on natural dyes in Michigan, most of the information can be implemented in any region. It is assumed that the papermaker has already processed or purchased pulp before they begin their experiments. This text is meant to be a basic overview of the natural dye process in which the papermaker-- now papermaker/dyer--can use as a jumping off point.

Michigan, while inspiring appreciation for traditions and stewardship of our environment. The first step to making natural dyes is understanding them, and those who have used them historically. From correcting misconceptions about their colorfastness, to learning which plants are safe and ethical to use, establishing a basic understanding of natural dyes in relationship to their use with handmade paper will be foremost. A list of equipment that is needed will follow, as well as instructions on how to prepare the fibers of the plants that have been harvested. Finally, a list of recipes that use only organic material that can be found in Michigan, as well as a guide of how and when to harvest these will help round out a cursory yet informed erudition of natural dyes.

Natural Dyes and Papermaking in Michigan

Understanding natural dyes is a proactive way to regain harmony and balance with nature, as well as preserve the natural dye traditions set in motion by our collective ancestry. Not one group of people can be pinpointed as the sole inventor and user of natural dyes, but rather it is a process that was most likely discovered by people thousands of years ago in the marks left by sitting in iron-rich dirt, and the berry stains of the cooks hands. Michigan, the beautiful Great Lakes state, is home to a plethora of plant varieties. From agate-hunting in the summers on the shore of Lake Superior in the Keweenaw Peninsula, to apple cider shared with good friends in a fire-colored fall forest on the Michigan-Indiana border, any person who has truly lived and loved in Michigan will know just how extensive that variety is. This text will, hopefully, guide its reader through the steps it takes to color their handmade paper with the colors of

The Natural Dye Traditions of Michigan

Natural dyes have been used in Michigan for many thousands of years, beginning with the Anishinaabe. The term Anishinaabe is the preferred moniker by several Eastern Woodland tribes, such as the Ojibwe(Chippewa) and Odawa. It translates to First People, getting rid of the unfortunate blanket term Native American, and thereby re-establishing identity and autonomy to individual tribes. These tribes languages share similar Algonquin roots, similar oral tradition, and similar approaches to their clothing and art work. The

But overhauling the textile industry and switching to the use of natural dyes only is, surprisingly, not the answer. Because so many people want so many different clothes, it would require all of the agricultural land in the world to be used strictly for growing plants for natural dyes. The solution to the problem is much, much smaller than ending the use of synthetic dyes in textile factories. Instead, the only way to address the problems of pollution and waste is to educate people on how to dye their own Other tribes across the Americas have also fabric, and to urge them to re-consider buying been known for using natural dyes and have cheaply-made clothing that is thrown away developed unique applications for them as after one or two uses. While these notions may well. The Anishinaabe, and these other tribes, seem out-of-reach for the busy, disposable lifehave used their many natural resources to create dyes unique to their region that incorpo- style in which Americans live today, they are rate nature without exploiting it. Using careful not totally impossible goals. Its all about unharvesting methods the Anishinaabe were able, derstanding the impact of a seemingly harmless, cheaply-made and cheaply-priced red and continue to be able, to continue their use of natural dyes by taking care of the provider of shirt and asking ourselves if its really something we cant live without. these dyes: the earth. application of these dyes can be seen in the intricate and vibrantly colored quillwork done by the Anishinaabe. From hundred-year-old meticulously quill-plaited medicine bags that can only be seen in museums, to the contemporary quillbox artist who works out of their home, this tradition and knowledge has survived years of colonization and attempted forced-assimilation.

Stewardship of the Earth

The textile industry is one of the main sources of water pollution in parts of the world, especially by factories located in Asia. For every ton of dyed fabric, up to 200 tons of water is used in its production. This water ends up full of harsh dyes and chemicals that make their way into the water systems- something any person living in and around the Great Lakes should be concerned about. With over 7 billion people in the world, just clothing each person in a shirt, pants, and jacket creates 21 billion articles of clothing. These 21 billion articles of clothing are expected to be colored with the brightest, richest, and most colorfast dyes, only to be worn a few times and thrown away. The average American throws away 68 pounds of clothing per year.

As dyers and papermakers, understanding alternatives to these kinds of practices can help inspire change in others. While they may not have a direct correlation to the textile factories per se, they can help change the attitudes of people by displaying living proof of the success of natural dyes.

Natural Dyes and Cellulose Fibers

Natural dyes can be used in a myriad of ways. They can be used to dye animal fibers which include wool and leather. They can also be used to dye cellulose fiber, which is fiber that is collected from plant matter and includes cotton, bamboo, and flax. Natural dyes can also be used, to an extent, on synthetic fibers such as nylon, rayon, or lycra, though the results are not as stable as natural fibers, and are not

recommended.

colorfast (meaning the dye will not fade or wash out) than synthetic dyes. There is also the notion that natural dyes do not yield a large enough variety of colors, specifically vibrant ones. These misconceptions have most likely come about because the dyer did not understand what kind of method needed to be used to facilitate the best dyes.

Types of Dyes
There are three different types of natural dyes: Substantive Dyes: Also known as direct While natural dyes are often associated with dyes. These dyes molecularly bond directly dyeing wool for spinners (people who take raw to the fiber. wool and turn it into yarn), they are also effective in papermaking. An added bonus to using them for papermaking is that the papermaker/ Mordant Dyes: These dyes require the presdyer can then use the cooked plant matter to ence of a fixative to chemically bond the dye make actual sheets of paper. While this text to the fiber. Such fixatives include tannins, will not go into detail about the latter, it is a rusty nails, and alum. fairly cut and dry process (sometimes literally) and the plant fiber can simply be used the same way cotton, cotton linters, abaca, or flax can. Coating Dyes: Also known as vat dyes. This It is assumed that the reader has, at the very method coats the fibers with dye but does least, a basic understanding of papermaking in not bond to them. which to connect natural dye technologies to. But using natural dyes for cellulose fibers is a bit more tricky than dyeing wool or other animal fiber, and the dyes behave differently than synthetic dyes or pigments. The fibers are more resistant and take some extra coaxing to fully produce strong colors, and require the use of water, heat, and certain natural chemicals. Once the process is used and understood, it is relatively easy to duplicate the process with every subsequent plant. Natural dyes are often viewed as being less All of the dye recipes at the conclusion of this research will specify what kind of dye technique is used to create the most stable color for that particular plant.

Mordants and Sizing

Getting the chemistry right is not always an easy task, and as mentioned before, these dyes are sensitive to even minor fluctuations. Some plant fibers may require a mordant . A mordant, in very simplified terms, is the glue that binds color to fiber. It creates a chemical

reaction in which the dye molecularly bonds to the fiber. Often times, a mordant isnt necessary to produce color, but it is necessary if the color is to last for a long time. Mordants can come in many different forms. They can be either synthetic or natural, and can be incorporated by simply allowing a metal pot to leach into the dye bath, or can be obtained by grinding down acorns and using their natural tannins. Mordants can even be implemented by using the blood from an animal, or, historically speaking, an animals urine. The discovery of this technology cannot, like most natural dye history, be equated with one single group. Instead, scientists suggest that early man made keen observations when they noticed that blood stains were hard to remove, and that certain colors lasted the longest on cave paintings. Certain projects can also benefit from sizing. Sizing is what allows paper to be printed, drawn on, or painted on more easily by making the paper more water repellant. It also increases the weight of the paper, as well as adds opacity to enhance colors. Paper that is made without sizing is called waterleaf. Waterleaf is adequate for projects in which the dyer does not intend to use the paper in a traditional means (such as making it into a book, drawing, writing a letter, etc.) but rather for projects that exist simply to emphasize the beauty and purity of making paper from plants, and plants only. This could include sculpture, wall-hangings or books that arent meant to be functional. Whether or not to choose to size is up the individual based on the needs of their finished product. If just experimenting with the nat-

ural dye process itself, this step may be too advanced. However, for the adventurous dyer, the most popular substance used for sizing is potassium aluminum sulphate typically known to dyers and papermakers simply as alum. Alum is a mineral salt that has been used for various purposes for thousands of years, and continues to be used in some municipal water systems today. It is relatively harmless, but it is still an irritant, and can still be harmful if ingested. Cellulose fibers benefit from adding alum to the dye vat in addition to a tannin mordant as it helps to deepen their colors. The following steps for using alum in conjunction with tannin come from Anne Bliss A Handbook of Dyes from Natural Materials: 1. Wash your fibers in hot water with a good soap or washing soda. Rinse thoroughly. Dry and weigh. Note: This step may not be necessary, depending on how you are processing your fibers. If, for example, you are using pre-made unsized pulp, you may skip this step. The point of this step is to rid the fiber of any sort of chemicals that may have collected on the material during its manufacturing. The material must be dried, which is as easy as spreading it in a thin layer on a stretched piece of fabric. This ensures accurate weights. 2. For each pound of clean, dry material add 6 tablespoons of alum and 8 teaspoons of washing soda to 4 gallons of water. Dissolve thoroughly. 3. Add clean material. 4. Bring the bath to a boil (212 F). Maintain the temperature for 1 hour.

5. Cool the bath with the cellulose material in it. 6. Remove material, rinse well. Because natural dyes are all about chemistry, sometimes certain substances can have many different purposes. While alum can be used as sizing, it is also necessary for achieving a certain vibrancy in stubborn cellulose fibers. In Harvesting Color by Rebecca Burgess, the author suggests that using a tannin mordant, in conjunction with alum, as opposed to a metallic mordant (rusty nails, metal dye vat etc.) is preferred by cellulose fibers. Tannins come from plants, and protect the plant from insects, bacteria, and fire. They are the reason some rivers have a brown tint to them, and have been used to tan animal hides. Naturally, the same effect will happen with the dye, resulting in a slightly muted tone. The following comes from Harvesting Color, and is an easily-digestible summary of how to create your own tannin mordant using nothing but acorns that can be harvested nearly anywhere in Michigan. 1. Collect about 1 lb. of acorns. Shell them by pounding and cracking their exterior with a rock. Once the shell has been cracked, you can generally peel it off. 2. Place your peeled acorns into a food processor and blend them into a fine meal. Place the acorn meal into a cloth bag and hang the bag over a large glass jar or a plastic bucket. Using your faucet or a hose, turn the water on gently and let it drain through the cloth bag and into your container. 3. Squeeze the outside of the bag, and you should see a thick cloudy substance release

into your container-these are tannins. The author also includes the following steps that, while do not pertain to natural dyes, remain in the spirit of ecologically sound practices: 4. If you wish to make acorn flour, youll want to release all the tannin from the acorn meal. The process of releasing the tannins can take many hours, so I recommend securing the bag to the faucet or hose and letting the water gently rinse the meal, and overflow from your bucket or jar for as long as it takes for the water to run clear. 5. To make your own acorn flour, spread the meal out to dry, and then blend it in a high-powered blender until it is a powdery consistency. The next step (after step 3, and skipping steps 4 and 5) is to add the tannin solution to the dye vat. Dissolve 1 tsp. for every gallon of water, and heat the solution on medium heat until it reaches 200 degrees. Add the plant fibers, and heat for one hour. Afterwards, the fibers need to be rinsed and set out or hung out to dry. Anne Bliss, in her book A Handbook of Dyes from Natural Materials, also agrees that the alum-tannin mordant process is also her preferred method for mordanting cellulose fibers. These steps are what have, in these authors experiences at least, yielded the best and most consistent results. However, these methods are not the only way to mordant fibers. One more laid-back approach is to simply place the fibers in a jar with water, set it out in the sun, and simply let it do its thing. It will produce an acidic liquor that will help bond color to fiber.

Another casual mordanting method would be to simply heat the fibers in a metal pot or vat filled with water and wait for the metal to leach into the dye bath. Some dyers are just not inclined to go through the labor-intensive steps of producing more consistent colors and would rather roll the dice with a more laissez-faire attitude, and a fascination for the unexpected. Either approach is perfectly fine.

cook outdoors over a fire, as it reduces the dyers carbon footprint and utilizes natural materials, negating the need to buy more items. Water. Rainwater is preferred as its PH level is typically neutral. Any water will do, but certain mineral deposits can affect color and give it a grey shade. Wooden spoon or stick to stir the fibers Large colander (plastic or metal) for straining out dyed fibers Rubber gloves Measuring cups and spoons Candy thermometer or other clip-on thermometer Plastic containers to keep dyed fibers in Scissors and pruning shears for harvesting plant matter

Equipment
The equipment needed to dye fibers can range from using basic supplies found around the house to expensive equipment that can be purchased from home improvement stores. To keep in the spirit of having the smallest environmental impact possible, the following supply list will aim to use items that are typically easy for the average person to obtain if they do not already have it. As stated before, it is assumed the reader already has a basic understanding of papermaking by hand using cotton, cotton linters, abaca, or flax (or some other material), and has processed said fibers before dyeing, meaning the dyer will come equipped with readymade pulp. This equipment list will reflect only what is needed for creating the natural dyes and how to dye the pulp, and not on processing the pulp itself. Equipment list: 4 gallon pot that has a lid and handles. Should be enamel-covered metal or stainless steel. Ventilation! If working in a kitchen, a hood vent is necessary. The preferred method is to

Where to Find Potential Dye Materials

Prospective natural dyes are everywhere. From the beautiful, meticulously pruned flora in community gardens, or the pesky weeds that threaten them; the little green plants growing in the cracks of sidewalks to the trees and groundcover of the forest, just about any plant species will produce something. The most important rule of developing natural dyes is to learn to be curious, flexible, and have the perseverance to endure endless trial and error. Even following tried and true recipes doesnt

always mean the results will be what was expected. Natural dyes are sensitive, and rely on proper chemistry.

to fibers being dyed

Goldenrod
Color(s) produced: Yellow to light green Where to find it: Open meadows, along roadsides; very abundant When to Harvest: Late summer to early fall How to Harvest: Cut approximately 8-10 inch lengths that include the head and stalk How much to harvest: 10:1 ratio, plant matter to fibers being dyed

Plants To Use As Dyes

There are endless possibilities as to which plants can be used as a natural dye. Chances are, anything in a persons backyard that has the ability to photosynthesize will produce something. With that said, certain plants simply work better than others. The following tried and true recipes are just a mere sample of the recipes out there, and are adapted from Rebecca Burgess Harvesting Color, and Anne Bliss A Handbook of Dyes from Natural Materials . These recipes will also instruct prospective dyers on proper harvesting techniques including what time of year in which to harvest, as each plant prefers something a little different.

Sand Coreopsis or Tickseed

Color(s) produced: Orange Where to find it: Open fields, along roadsides When to Harvest: Spring to Summer How to Harvest: Flowers only, taking no more than 10% of the blooms from every stalk How much to harvest: 1:1 ratio, plant matter to fibers being dyed

Ironweed
Color(s) produced: Beige to soft green tones Where to find it: Damp meadows and wetland areas When to Harvest: Late Summer to Fall How to Harvest: Collect the blooms as if cutting them from a bouquet How much to harvest: 6:1 ratio, plant matter to fibers being dyed

Black Walnut
Color(s) produced: Brown Where to find it: Anywhere in Michigan When to Harvest: Late summer to early fall How to Harvest: Harvested from the tree or picked up off the ground How much to harvest: 6lbs of walnuts to 5oz of fiber

Elderberry
Color(s) produced: Light blue to light purple Where to find it: Creeks, moist forests When to Harvest: Late summer to fall How to Harvest: Collect bunches of berries How much to harvest: 9:1 ratio, plant matter

Sheep Sorel
Color(s) produced: Olive to deep green Where to find it: Open fields, along roadsides. Prefers acidic soils. When to Harvest: Early fall How to Harvest: Collect entire head and stalk How much to harvest: 2:1 ratio, plant matter to fibers being dyed

Sassafras
Color(s) produced: Red to reddish brown Where to find it: Forests, sand dunes When to Harvest: Early fall How to Harvest: Gather entire plant, no more than 10%. Use root bark for dye vat. How much to harvest: 2 cups root bark per gallon of water

should be fairly simple to calculate how much plant material is necessary using the ratios specific to the plants. What is not always consistent is how long to cook the pulp with the plants. Most sources say to start with an hour keeping the temperature around 212 degrees. Sometimes it can take longer, but ultimately that time is decided by the dyer and how intense they are trying to push the hue. Once the color result is achieved, the pulp is now ready to be used however the papermaker/dyer chooses.

Conclusion
Understanding the history of natural dyes unites generations of people of the past, present, and of those yet to come, and provides a more environmentally conscious alternative to synthetic dyes and pigments. Materials are abundant and easy to find, the chemicals used to process them are entirely natural, and many dyers before have laid the groundwork for developing recipes for color consistency. Using natural dyes for coloring handmade paper is a time-consuming yet rewarding experience. The dyer will undoubtedly encounter unforeseen obstacles and challenges, but with perseverance and creative-thinking, amazing and unique results can and will be achieved.

Black Raspberry
Color(s) produced: Purple to Blue Where to find it: Forests When to Harvest: Late spring to mid-summer How to Harvest: Gather berries, no more than 10% of berries on bush How much to harvest: 1 quart berries to one gallon of water

The final step is to simply fill the stainless steel pot with the amount of water, pulp, and plant matter as directed and bring it to a steady boil. Because the dyer has already weighed out the materials during the mordanting process, it

Works Cited
Many resources were used in the making of this article. If specific information was taken from a source, it is cited already in the paper, as well as below. The other works listed below have aided in getting a general understanding and scope of natural dyes, but their information and wording have not been used directly. Books: Bliss, Anne. A Handbook of Dyes from Natural Materials.1981. Print. Burgess, Rebecca. Harvesting Color. 2011. Print. Heller, Jules. Paper-making.1978. Print. Reimer, Mary, and Heidi Reimer-Epp. 300 Papermaking Recipes. 2000. Print. Websites: Meredith, Jane. Natural Dyes. . Low Impact Living Initiative, n.d. Web. 3 Mar. 2014. Dyeing for a change: current conventions and new futures in the textile colour industry. . Low Impact Living Initiative, 2006. Web. 3 Mar. 2014. Synthetic Dyes: A look at Environmental & Human Risks. Green Cotton. N.p., 2008. Web. 3 Mar. 2014. Birch, Paula. About Natural Dyes. All About Hand Dyeing. N.p., 2009. Web. 3 Mar. 2014. Zaharia Carmen and Suteu Daniela (2012). Textile Organic Dyes Characteristics, Polluting Effects and Separation/Elimination Procedures from Industrial Effluents A Critical Overview, Organic Pollutants Ten Years After the Stockholm Convention. Web. 3 Mar. 2014. Wallandar, Mattias. Closet Cast-Offs Clogging Landfills. Huffington Post. N.p., 2010. Web. 3 Mar. 2014. Understanding Mordants and Modifiers. Griffin Dyeworks & Fiber Arts. N.p., 2012. Web. 3 Mar. 2014.