My first try at natural dyes made me want to make more! So now when I go foraging, I am not only looking for mushrooms that are edible, but also those that I can dye yarn with. On my last trip I found a rather interesting one, Hydnellum suaveolens. I read that this could give a beautiful blue color, and even though I didn’t have tons of it, and it isn’t particularly lightfast, I had to give it a try!
First, I dried the mushroom in thin slices. Then I put it into a nylon stocking, the tip I picked up after last times issues with mushroom bits stuck in the yarn, and added it to one of my big pots. Heated it up slowly, and added some ammonia to up the PH. This was needed to get blue, from what I could Google myself to. The smell was quite awful, so I was glad to be doing this outside!
The result? Lovely, light blue with a turquoise hint to it! I love it. Not sure what to make of it, cause I don’t want it to fade too fast. But I also want to use it, of course.
There are several mushrooms that can give blue colors, but none are very lightfast. I will still try them out, if I can find them! So far this fall it hasn’t been great for any fungi it seems, as it’s been very dry. But the season isn’t over yet! I will keep searching, and keep dyeing!
Frigg Fiber Arts 