I tried dyeing fabric with ROWAN BERRIES | Will It Dye Ep.3

Hello everyone and welcome to a new video!
I started this series a while back, but ran into a dry spell where I couldn't find anything interesting in my local park, and because of restrictions, I wasn't going anywhere. But it was always on the back of my mind! I love experimenting with different or non-traditional dyestuffs.
In this episode, we are trying rowan berries. I had a local tree that I noticed was bountiful, but the animals weren't consuming them, and I thought - will it dye?
I actually loved the result so much that I want to do this again, with a different kind of fabric for a different project that I can keep and wear a lot. I think I will try seaweed for episode 4 if I can find any - I'm also mildly terrified that my flat will stink for weeks after boiling seaweed... but oh well, the things we do for science. Do let me know if you have any suggestions for the next episode!
-- THINGS MENTIONED --
Episode 1: Mexican Mint • Will it Dye? Episode 1...
Episode 2: Pine Cones • I tried dyeing fabric ...
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Music is from Epidemic Sound.

[@l.m.2404]

Most birds wait until after a frost to eat rowan berries...the freeze will turn the berries slightly sweeter and often ferments them while still on the tree.

[@Kialas]

Yes, and they eat the berries all winter long. After snow has covered everything else.

[@intexclouds9607]

Wow.... you look so beautiful. I bet you get a lot of attention wherever you go.

[@janinehancock9767]

Hi do you think the freezing of the berries and waiting until this as happened would improve the outcome of using them to dye any fabric ?

[@musicaloveraj]

I am so excited you brought this series back. I do hope you try more things to dye and even try to change it up a bit by adding something acidic that can change the color of the dye bath. Or whatever it may be to change a dye bath.

[@aurora4218]

I love to play this series in the background while I'm doing house chores and creative-type self care because it helps make me feel like I'm being productive with someone

[@lisanne8525]

I really like this series! But whenever you forage something new to dye with, google it to make sure it's not dangerous! Some things, like rhubarb (leaves, I think), can give off toxic fumes when you heat it up. This may be good to mention in the next video in this series!

[@waterbitten]

+1 agreed.

[@reivenne]

Rhubarb leaves don't give off toxic fumes, they're just full of oxalic acid so if you eat them you can damage your kidneys and even cause kidney failure.

[@TheGirlfromBowral]

The first video of yours I watched was a cloth dyeing one. Yes, more please!

[@CopenhagenDreaming]

Weird stuff like this is FUN! My mum used to do a fair bit of natural dyeing (mainly wool yarn) back in the 70s - because... 70s! And some of it turned out rather nice and still retains its colour 50 years later!

[@anieth]

Keep doing this. Sorbus aucuparia (Rowan) can dye different colors. The fruits were used for chutneys and sauces and are particularily good with pheasant. Most people use the leaves for dyeing which turn all sorts of beautiful cinnamon colors.

[@CatsCostumery]

Oh gosh now I have to try the leaves!

[@judithcollins3744]

@@CatsCostumery I think I would have tossed the whole little branch in the pot to see what all came out of it. The straining would have been a tad messier, but the saved time plucking the berries from the branch was saved.

[@pv6450]

@@CatsCostumery yes try all kinds of leaves. Most leaves have a certain amount of tannins which will give you many different tones of brown. Also try cones!

[@justyouraverageweirdo]

I'm not entirely sure, but I believe some combination of the rowan bark and the berries was used to make black dye at some point in history.

[@knittingmoose]

I like that color. A trick for berries that grow in that kind of flat bunch is that you can get them off the stem, faster and easier using the tines of a fork. Just poke the fork tines through the stems and pull down and it'll take the berries off much faster and easier.

[@CatsCostumery]

I wish I’d thought of this 😂🤦‍♀️

[@rachelboersma-plug9482]

That's exactly what I was thinking - like stripping redcurrants. The rowan berries would get a bit bashed up but that's probably a good thing in this situation.

[@marinalenzi3150]

I love this series! Please do continue. Seaweed sounds intriguing 😁

[@verdandiknits]

rowan beries are called "birds-berries" in Germany as well. They are not sweet and rather bitter before frost, but birds like them. With cooking you actually turn the bitter elements into an artificiall sweetener ('Sorbit' in German). I like that colour a lot, hope it doesn't fade too soon.

[@ladyslytherin8870]

I love the natural dye videos. I find it really interesting. Also love the surprise of what the end result will be! :)

[@ReinaElizondo]

Oh cool! I wasn't expecting a peach. I find these types of experiments fascinating as well!

[@gozer87]

I like the dyer videos. Weaving and dyeing have historically been such an important part of the household economy.

[@texaspoontappa2088]

I really like these videos. The mystery colour makes them so interesting to watch.

[@jkabholat]

I really enjoy watching and seeing the end results. Please share more videos.

[@jackiejames4551]

I liked the video. It was fun to see you experimenting with different natural dye compounds. Please do some more of these videos.

[@bunhelsingslegacy3549]

Hint from one short person who likes to harvest a variety of things for aa variety of reasons: the hook on the end of an umbrella is great for drawing a branch down to where you can hold onto it to reach what you're after, I've used this for rowan, crabapple, hawthorne and wild grapes. When harvesting larger fruit like apples and pears, I use a fruit picker basket (it has hooks on one side of the basket to catch the fruit) on a telescoping pole... If you do rowanberry again, maybe wait until the fruit is getting overripe, the colour might be more intense that way. Onion skins make a lovely orange, I've been using mine for years for dyeing easter eggs and since I got into historical sewing I've been saving my cooking onion skins for like a year. Dunno what I'm going to dye with it, but I'm gonna dye something, dangit! I also want to try black walnut but it seems to make kind of a dead winter brown, I may end up using the onion skins to warm up the colour if I do walnut... Suggestions - walnuts, onion skins, and if you get the kind of barely edible wild grapes we have here that are the size of peas and are filled with purple tartness and seeds, those make a lovely purple dye that I'm going to try on some thing soon... I suspect the not so edible berries from virginia creeper should also work.

[@LisaJedi]

Great experiment! I would love to see what you'd get dyeing wool fabric, as natural dyes take up very well when applied to wool. When I've dyed wool yarn & fibres, the colour sometimes exhausts completely from the dyebath, which is really magical!

[@AliciaB.]

Honestly linen must be the natural fiber least receptive of organic dyes. I suggest using wool or silk instead, otherwise you'll probably always get very very light coloration

[@jerahyassine3192]

I can’t wait to see what you make of it!!! 😍

[@tulsiclarity3228]

oh those! they are very common here in sweden too, i remember we would thread them up on a string and let them dry to be necklaces when i was younger (ps. seaweed dyeing sound really fun, would love to see that)

[@makennapagniano]

I love these kinds of videos! I don't have a pot large enough to start dyeing fabric but I hope to get one soon and I love to see other people's experiments!

[@TheMetatronGirl]

Pretty! I’d love to see it if you do a higher concentration, and if you do the leaves! I love this series.

[@catherinejustcatherine1778]

I enjoy this series very much. I like watching experiments. I think maybe you could find a friend to help you reach more berries, and maybe get a deeper shade, next time.

[@rosemarywatson9082]

i'd love to see the seaweed dyeing! very curious how that will go. You may not need more berries for a deeper colour with rowen berries, there was still a lot of colour let in the dye bath, which normally means the colour hasn't bonded with the mordant, could be a different mordant would work better with that pigment?

[@DebTallbroad]

I am greatly enjoying your dying journeys! Please keep them up.

[@rebeccacuthbertson1271]

When you first poured the berries in the water, it reminded me of the cranberry bogs where I grew up in MA. And it came out such a cute shade of peach/pink. Love it!

[@DavidCollinsRivera]

Nice delicate color, good job. I'm excited for the seaweed, though!

[@michelle_flora]

Please keep making these videos! I love seeing what color will come out of random plants you find, the mystery makes it all the more entertaining, haha.

[@crazyforNarnia1]

I enjoy the random experiments

[@believeinfaeries8713]

You've got me itching to try some natural dyes myself now!

[@isabellejoubert1075]

Just wanted to say I love this series! I'm super interested in learning natural dying so it's very fun for me to see how you manage with unusual materials.

[@michellecornum5856]

I like these very much. This got me thinking. I once watched a video where this Japanese man rediscovered a recipe for red dye using saffron, and that yellow was just the beginning, and if you drag out the process {essentially, ruin the dye and attempt to re-dye using the same water} you end up with a stunning red. I wonder if there is a trick to gaining the color, like waiting for a different time of year, or cooking and cooling and cooking, or putting the berries in a pomander and boiling them with the cloth, or fermenting them until they are a fine sour mash and dyeing in that liquid. The pomander one is what kept coming to mind with this. But at any rate, I do enjoy these. Carry on.

[@olgahein4384]

Well, at least for madder drying is important. The fresh root gives you yellow, only after drying for some time the red dye comes out (also, depending on the additives, you can get a pink or even nearly black dark red).

[@michellecornum5856]

@@olgahein4384 This is so interesting.

[@RetroClaude]

I love this series because of the anticipation. Will it work? What colour will it turn out? Will it wash out in the end? I'm gripped! 😂

[@angelacotter5872]

I really like these videos! My son and I made our own water colour paints with things we found in the house. Turmeric for yellow, paprika for orange, black tea for brown, fruit tea for a red/brown, mashed blueberries for lilac and mashed spinach for green. It was a great lockdown activity!

[@canucknancy4257]

Rowan trees are one of the most common trees planted in yards here in Calgary, but we call them mountain ash. I may just have to try this on some of my spun wool to see what colour I get. Thanks for sharing this very interesting series.

[@komorebihouse7272]

Hey I’m from Calgary! 👋 Did you happen to try it out? I’m wanting to try it on wool myself 😀

[@canucknancy4257]

@@komorebihouse7272 Haven't had a chance to try it yet. Too hard too much crazy during the holiday season to try dying. That may have to be a summer project.

[@missaliasaurora]

I actually love this kind of video, my one regret is that you don't live in my part of the world, so I could see what kind of experimentation could be done with the plants that are local to me :) Guess that's something I would have to find out for myself!

[@SiriusFeanor]

Wow, I am so surprised with the colour! Well done! My bet was on brown with a slight hue of orange, because that was the colour of rowan jam my family used to make :) We also dry rowan berries and add them to tea in winter for extra vitamin C.

[@danariggle8038]

I think it's fun and very interesting! Please keep up the series

[@kendall7041]

I've been doing my own dye experimenting, so far I've done Oregon grape and Juniper, and i live by the sea so now you've got me thinking about seaweed!

[@Kelli.Hicks.5]

The color is quite nice. I can't wait to see what you make with the fabric.

[@robintheparttimesewer6798]

That’s fun! I will admit to being courteous about natural dying it’s fun to watch the experiments

[@whitneybaliles6577]

Please continue this series! It’s very interesting. 🤓

[@briefisbest]

I loved this! What a surprising color.

[@shortsweettoo]

Cool. I have these berries in my backyard (Canada). The berries are not ripe yet. Trust me, the birds love them. Thanks for sharing. Might give it a go!

[@nzshauna3680]

Please keep it up, I like your Will it Dye - although you’ve done so few I didn’t realise it was a series 😉 I like that you’re proving you don’t need a massive setup and separate kitchen which I’d thought was necessary after reading other dye books. You’re doing it at a scale that works for you, as an occasional experiment, so that’s freed me up. How about 1 per season, using whatever is available then? Cheers!

[@avenillacastienkersteter8283]

I like these dyeing shows. If you dye with seaweed, you can also get a pale green with sea lettuce (ulva fenestrata); one that makes a pretty reddish pink with Turkish Towel (chondracanthus exasperates). Make sure to only pick the young ones as they give the best results; and depending on how much your allowed to pick. You can get a light purple-red color out of rainbow leaf/iridescent seaweed (mazzaella splendents) but I usually just eat it. Enjoy your experiments.

[@coreygilles847]

I do love these videos…I find it fascinating what colors emerge!

[@lilimdreams]

I love this series! I wondered about drying and crushing them and then boiling the powder.

[@caoimhenimhuireadhaigh1303]

This is amazing!! Please do more!

[@atiya-said-hey]

I think it came out nicely. If you find a bigger pot and decide to do it again I'd like to see that. Maybe next year when the berries are in season again. That way we can also get a follow up on how this fabric's color held up as well.

[@smallishkae]

I love watching these dyeing experiments! Please keep them coming…

[@conniemurdoch8528]

A true dark red is hard to achieve using plants. Beets work to a degree. There are some other roots that give a reddish hue. I think one is “blood root”. Marigold (the flower) gives a good yellow. Onion skin works to dye Easter eggs! I just checked an article I’d saved and it says use cochineal bodies. They are a type of insect that if you crush the bodies it gives you the truest red. I think I recall you can get them on Amazon. Why do you think red fabric was only worn by aristocrats? Getting red fabric is hard. I love the peach. For blotchiness I think all you can do is manipulate the fabric so it’s not sticking together in clumps the whole time. Separate the layers and rearrange the folds so each square inch of fabric is open to the dye as possible.

[@shadesofblue4520]

Very interesting!!! I love those dyeing experiments videos

[@hi-im-eff]

I loved this! Makes me want to go out and forage and see what I can find and try to dye with it!

[@booksatthebottomofthestair8446]

I enjoyed this. Forsythia in the spring will give you a lovely yellow.

[@ladytaliastorm8882]

Please continue the series, I really find it fun and interesting!

[@asiabryant207]

I would love to see you try again with more berries

[@diamondslashranch]

This series has been so much fun!

[@lonelyzephyr83]

I love this series, please keep experimenting!

[@kobaltkween]

I think these are fun to watch.

[@Feelicitasy]

ohhhh, we have a rowan tree too, I need to check if it already bears fruit! we never do anything with them, so that might be a good use!

[@ayemessdee]

The dyeing videos are great! Somehow I missed this one when it came out, but I've really enjoyed the whole series.

[@beeb6730]

I love that this is a series and am off to go watch the old ones which were before I subscribed and I'd love to see how seaweed would go.

[@creativitybytrisha6819]

This was fun to watch! Keep trying new things and see what you get. There are books on natural dyeing that may gave you a better idea of how wash and lightfast the dyes will be.

[@bekahcarroll2647]

I really enjoy watching you experiment! I'm super fascinated by the idea of using seaweed, so I'm looking forward to seeing you try it!

[@laniinla2354]

How fun! It's a lovely color!

[@anaterka13]

As a rule of the thumb , any fruit has something that eats it. So it's more a matter of supply and demand(non native plants might not have their takers or if fauna is limited due to it being in the middle of a city etc). My book mentions Thrushes as one of its main eaters. And also, one can make preserves out of it so it's edible to humans too.

[@Kardinaalilintu]

Really pretty colour, I might end up trying rowanberry dye sometime. Oh, and the berries are very much edible. They contain plenty of vitamins too. If you don't want to wait for natural frost, freeze the berries before turning them into a product of your choice. I like making either jelly or biscuits from them.

[@TudorositiesbyMaureen]

I am totally a fan of your natural dyeing series

[@elainebye9090]

I really like this series. ❤❤❤ I was always "doing experiments" when I was a child, and this speaks to me on a very basic level!

[@ncalgal4699]

Really like the Will It Dye series, gives me great ideas, keep making these videos!

[@adedow1333]

I love the color! That's really quite enchanting. I have a Rowan tree very close to my house. I just need to dedicate a pot to dying. (I've also been saving avocado skins and pits to try for a pink color!)

[@anna46792]

This was really fun to watch. I’d love more.

[@monikamiroslava4074]

The series is super interesting and fun :)

[@madebymitty]

This was so interesting to watch! Your filming style is very comforting too. I'd love to see more like this x

[@westrose586]

Thank you for posting this video of your berry experiment! The berries are eaten by certain birds (that may not be in the area. The berries are medicinal and contain super amounts of vitamins. You can make jelly, syrup and other much the same as elderberry.

[@bekytg9393]

Please continue with this series, because my knowledge on natural dye in 0%.

[@ellemjay1195]

really like these videos, more please 😍

[@marybull3715]

Blackbirds strip our rowan tree of berries very quickly once they start, perhaps you were just a little earlier than them. Enjoyed the video, interesting to see what colours develop from natural sources. thank you.

[@dragontearsoflove]

love this. I do enjoy playing with natural dyes. Thanks for sharing...next time, lay down an old sheet and shake that tree;-). I think a natural dying book might help you find the colors you want to get out of dying and give you fun suggestions.

[@BeverleyButterfly]

What a beautiful pretty colour it made I was surprised I bet it would make such a pretty blouse xx

[@gerileemakes]

I like watching all your videos!

[@HouseHooligan]

I love the dying experiments! Please keep them up. ❤️

[@eyesofthegoddess2967]

Love it. you did a great job at this. Keep on doing the series as many love it as much as I do.

[@carolempluckrose4188]

Give it a period of time, as LM says the birds will soon make short work of them once they have been frosted. Have you thought about trying blackcurrant; maybe a friend has more on their bushes than they can eat, maybe some have gone just past their optimum best; and blackberry as 2 natural dyes? It's blackberrying season, so any you pick in a place where your rather not eat them, eg, by the road, they would be perfect. Again mordant first though. Do wear gloves for blackberries, they stain skin wonderfully! Your Rowan result is beautiful, such a delicate colour. I'm dying to see what you make with that colour linen😍, it's going to be to dye for!

[@SimpleDesertRose]

That was a fun little experiment. I never would have got peach out of those berries. But I love the color. I've been toying with the idea of doing natural dyes for a while. I even have a number of books on the subject saved on amazon. I've just never committed to getting any. I think now that we have our home stead started and fairly confident that our plants are going to survive, I will start planting some plants for natural dying and see about doing some natural dying. I have been gushing over the color of your purple stays all week. Even wanting to try to replicate the color myself. I'm just not real big on chemicals. So maybe I can grow the plants to creat a lovely purple dye.

[@agimagi2158]

I love the color, it is so cute!!

[@susieahn6594]

I love this series and that you used locally sourced ingredients! Looking forward to the next one!

[@katiearcher4475]

I enjoy this so much! I want to try my hand at this as well, but currently not able to. Love seeing your natural dye experiments!

[@MathIsMagical]

The Mexican mint dye video was how I found your channel

[@jakethesexysaint4812]

That was awesome!

[@sarahheri7027]

gorgeous!!! it came out absolutely beautiful - the blush-peachy-pink is WOW!!!

[@amandaklimock2229]

I love your dye videos please keep making them!

[@gillianpaterson5130]

Love your videos, I am now inspired to also have a go at dying with rowan berries. Thank you.

[@pauladavitt7554]

I’m enjoying these videos. Please keep making them.

[@TheEconWoman]

I love these videos. Keep them going

[@FlybyStardancer]

I love this series with just taking something around you and going for it! And since you couldn’t remember, I’ve heard RIT referred to as a “reactive dye”. So in the yarn dyeing channel I watch (Chemknits), she tends to classify dyes as either natural, acid, or reactive. It’s called that because the dye uses a chemical reaction to bond directly to the fiber. Kool Aid dyeing for wool or silk yarns (or hair) would be an example of acid dyes, and then what you’re doing is natural dyeing.

[@LualaDy]

I can't wait to see what you make out of it

[@merindalee]

i love this series please make more! seaweed is a great idea :D ooo and again with MORE BERRIES