Extracting Pigment from Your Woad Plants - and Saving it for Later Use! (Step 5 of My Dream Project)

[@nancyskinner5207]

Woad is a labor of love, but like all labors of love, so worth it.

[@howardsternssmicrophone9332]

The Woad was so powerfully filled with Pigment that it dyed your 5 gallon bucket blue before you even processed it! Good job! lol.

[@EnchantadoreaPlumaDelDragon]

I was super surprised at how technical this process is. Science was much more advanced chemically than I imagined. I love that I learned they were so much more advanced in the chemical sciences than I had any idea. Thank you. I am intrigued by the pigment making process but hadn't really started looking into it much. Thanks for teaching this class.

[@1knitboy1]

I really appreciate you taking the time to do all this step by step and so thoroughly. I watched every minute.

[@HarpyandHag]

I hope it was helpful to you!!! Keep me posted on your progress if you try it yourself! Subscribe and stay tuned for more woad action this summer!

[@roarkegriffon5657]

Thank you for showing me how to do this. I can dedicate a raised bed towards growing woad to process now.

[@HarpyandHag]

So pleased to hear that! I had hoped a different, more in-depth video would help people feel more confident!

[@redlily8101]

As someone who knows nothing about woad... this was a great clear explanation of the process. Good job!

[@BadPete81]

Good video.

[@lisaash3304]

Wow this video is so so thorough. thanks I so appreciate your step by step process. these are just the tutorials I love. ❤

[@HarpyandHag]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@jeansayers8659]

Fabulous video. Thank you for slowing it down for us!

[@surendersingal2192]

Thank you ma'am, this was magic. Extracting cosmic blue die out of ordinary green woad. Hence making life rich experience. Seems like we humans have the same ability to bring interesting color out of our old color. Very kind of you n your photographer, goid day. Jussojuan

[@HarpyandHag]

So glad that you enjoyed! XOXO

[@nancyskinner5207]

I did woad in the 90’s. There was no KZbin. Very little written either. Spin-off did a story about my humorous saga. It was quite a project. I may grow woad again and try this. Thank you

[@HarpyandHag]

Keep us posted!!!

[@jorachel9727]

I LOVE this series! It is my first time watching any sort of woad processing, and this series makes it feel like an achievable goal! Thank you 🙏 for sharing this journey with all of us! Also “mommy’s making her own bubbles” 😭 omg adorable 🥰

[@HarpyandHag]

Awesome! Be sure to share your progress with us!

[@jorachel9727]

@@HarpyandHag it may be a while, but I absolutely will! Edit: thank you for sharing the mistakes, too!!

[@phileofarm1]

Thank you! I use woad medicinally in my herbal practice, but have enough this year that I want to dye with it. I knew the process, but SEEING the settling and hearing about your experiments was SO helpful! Thank you so so much!!! 🙏🏻❤️❤️❤️

[@HarpyandHag]

Keep us posted on your progress!!!

[@lucyindiana]

Hi there! I'm curious, what are the medicinal uses or benefits of woad? I'm growing some now and want to learn all I can about this awesome plant. Thanks you! 💙

[@farpointstation]

Sweet graphic novel collection!

[@nancyskinner5207]

I understand how emotional this is for you.

[@lespiedscarres6321]

Thank you so much for sharing. I have learnt so much!!! This is so instructive and i can't wait to see how you prepare your woad vat! Thank u!!!!!

[@HarpyandHag]

Glad we were helpful! Stay tuned for more!!!

[@nataliamilas2620]

Hi!! This video was the best! About a month ago I tried a fresh leave wood VAT which did not end so well. I was wondering here for how long did you leave the woad leave in the hot water steeping? Also, any reason for why you need to cool it down super fast? I could not find a lot of information about this part of the process. You video gave me really high hopes for trying it again, thanks!

[@LindaHefferman13]

Thank you so much for this video. Really helpful! I’m determined to harvest pigment from my woad this year. I started a few plants several years ago. I did nothing with it, and let it go to seed. I did keep all the seeds, which can be great for eco printing! I have grown Japanese indigo for several years and have gotten my pigment extraction process pretty down. But it’s clear that the process is quite different with woad! Have you tried gently pouring the top liquid off the jars? This is what I do with the settling pigment from Japanese indigo, and it’s much faster. Going to try my first extraction this weekend, and I feel so much more confident after watching your whole video. I’m curious to see what my pigment yield may be. The plants are big and robust, but growing in partial shade.

[@EnchantadoreaPlumaDelDragon]

And I adore the I did it dance. LOL

[@luminitaristea7399]

Congrats!

[@bashkillszombies]

If you forget to weigh but know how much water you put in merely weight the entire pot, then afterwards weigh the pot on it's own, calculate out your water weight and hey presto you get the weight.

[@palespider]

holy cow! thank you so much for the video in such detail. its something i would like to try personally. Thoughts, did you harvest and try again with more mature plants with pigment output or change? also, would a cheese cloth to extract the pigment left to dry maybe speed up the process? Just some thoughts. also wondering where you live and the avg temperature during the days while you were waiting for sun drying.

[@HarpyandHag]

Great question! While the introduction is definitely before my first clipping, I ended up harvesting and processing my woad garden at 5 or 6 different points throughout the summer (and have at least one more clipping to go this fall). That's how I was able to show you all of my failures, ha!

[@onceuponatablecloth]

I am wondering how the dye actually came out and what the process of dying with the extracted pigment is compared too using the fresh leaves.

[@docroberts01]

Could you speed separation of the pigment from the juice using filter paper or a centrifuge?

[@JackyHeijmans]

Find Nature's Rainbow, Indigo from Woad. Cold extraction. it looks a lot simpler. He has 2 parts for the cold, and a video about hot extraction. And when you poor the liquid off to get the pigment, you can poor it down a cloth, so the pigment stays on the cloth. That will dry a lot faster.

[@LeftHandRule]

Thank you!

[@HarpyandHag]

You're welcome!

[@howardsternssmicrophone9332]

It's amazing to me that some medieval person centuries ago stumbled upon this plant in the wild and thought to themselves "I wonder If I can make blue dye out of this?"....It's crazy when you think about it.

[@francesleader2746]

I was enthralled with this process because I know that woad was used by our Brit ancestors to paint themselves before battle. It is antiseptic and helps coagulate a wound. It is an essential ingredient for healing salves applied to psoriasis and excema in Trad Chinese herbal remedies too. I had no idea how complex the extraction process is.... it explains why woad pigment is so expensive! What blows me away is this..... how was this process discovered? It is not as if you could accidentally discover it, is it? Did our ancestors have advanced chemistry knowledge? Amazingly ancient, well preserved graves, found in the Gobi desert, revealed blonde/red haired women dressed in tartan fabrics which included blues, yellows, greens and reds. I am inclined to imagine that there is much about our history which has been either lost or obscured by cataclysm or time. Thank you for taking the time and trouble to experiment and record your efforts. Big love from a village close to Stonehenge in UK. xx

[@HarpyandHag]

I totally agree that its origin is fascinating...like how does one accidentally discover these complex chemical results?!? Woad is indeed very valuable and important. One thing I would like to share is that more and more the evidence is demonstrating that woad was not actually used to paint ones face. It oxidizes and turns black and doesn't suspend well with water to "paint" ones face - though they don't yet know yet for sure what people were painting their faces with. I'm curious to follow that research!

[@francesleader2746]

@@HarpyandHag - when I make formulae for psoriasis and excema I mix woad with lanolin or petroleum jelly. That does not change the colour and it stays wherever you put it. It also can stain the skin temporarily and if applied to an open wound the scar will have a blue tinge.

[@HarpyandHag]

@@francesleader2746 Well THAT'S fascinating to know!!! I can't post links here in the comments, but would you hit me up on Facebook or by email so we can chat further on this? Maybe we'll do some testing and another video!

[@francesleader2746]

@@HarpyandHag - I am banned from facebook, twitter and discord. Such is the censorship of conventional thinkers over those of us who choose to practice natural medicine and original geo-political opinion. You can find my articles by searching my name on sub stack. This is my fourth attempt to reply to you here.... you tube removes my messages if I try to provide you with an email address or link to my work. I am totally fed up with these interfering algorithms, aren't you?

[@HarpyandHag]

@@francesleader2746 Ooooof! Feel free to reach out to me at printedtextilesprojectgmail (fill in the spaces to avoid bots).

[@nancyskinner5207]

I’ve only used fresh leaves. This is something that will be valuable to me. The first time I grew woad, cabbage worms attacked it.

[@PeaceLoveAndRico]

I just extracted indigo from hair powder. Just as a proof of concept. Next, it's time to harvest some suffruticosa, I only have two plants , but I'm hoping to make them bush out quite a bit. They also go evergreen where I live so, that's awesome... 😂 thanks for showing me the gifts of woad; Woad is illicit here due to it's 'invasive' nature.

[@QuiveringQuiff]

I've had advice to use a aquarium oxygen pump for easy oxygenation, but I've yet to actually try this.

[@HarpyandHag]

What an interesting suggestion!

[@nancyskinner5207]

Would the “woad juice” be useful as a dye bath?

[@HarpyandHag]

No. It would not actually do any kind of permanent color change. Though I have heard that the flowers and seeds will do shades of yellows and browns.

[@apersonlol9120]

Can you use this method for a bunch of different plants to get different colours?

[@HarpyandHag]

Unfortunately, no. This method is unique to woad, however, that doesn't mean you can't store dyes in different ways. Each process is unique.

[@KayleenKrystal]

For OP or anyone who can help!: Hey! Thank you for making this video. I have been looking for a video that explains how to extract pigment from plants. However, I am looking to make paint from plant pigments. Does anyone in the comments have experience with a similar process (or this process) with plants other than woad? I assume it may be a similar experience? Thanks to everyone in advance.

[@HarpyandHag]

Hi Kayleen! I'm actually going to be experimenting with this this summer! (Specifically with block printing), so stay tuned. However, I'd love to hear from others, too!

[@carmendeveer]

Thank you so much for sharing. I love it. Yesterday I started to make my first woad bath to extracting pigments. I have a question. When do you pour the liquid from your pan into the large jars? After one day or only when you see the sediment at the bottom of the pan?

[@HarpyandHag]

As soon as I am done processing it, I put it into the jar (or bucket) to settle. Then over the course of the next week or two I keep draining off the liquid from the top (about the top 2/3 or 3/4, however much doesn't disturb the sediment at the bottom) and putting fresh water in, then let it resettle again. I do this at least 2-3 times. This gets rid of the waste products.

[@carmendeveer]

@@HarpyandHag Thank you for your quick response. Oké, my next step now is to transfer the liquid from my bucket to my glass jars, so I can see the process better :-) My goal is to use the pigment for screen printing on textile. Fingers crossed.

[@bonnnash9227]

For rapid cooling try… prepared ice bottles/cooler bottles, 2 L coke bottles filled with ice and place directly in the pot with the woad.😉

[@HarpyandHag]

Great suggestion, thanks!!!

[@colorinproductions]

Thanks so much for sharing such a detailed account of your extraction process! I've got some woad seedlings now, which I'll hopefully be able to extract from next year. I probably missed it, but did you at any point mention what your yield was?

[@HarpyandHag]

I didn't mention it in this video, but got 32 grams plus I have one more batch to process.

[@VikingMakery]

Such an awesome channel. I've got woad growing right now and can't wait to use it. When do you recommend harvesting throughout the season?

[@HarpyandHag]

Depends on where you're at. I'm in the upper Midwest and did my first cutting in June.

[@waterloobear3159]

Have you tried starting with distilled water?

[@HarpyandHag]

Good question! Not this year, but I will next year!

[@waterloobear3159]

@@HarpyandHag You did a great job. Part of experimenting is, not being afraid to fail. Imagine doing this camping? Dont apologize for showing a full process.

[@HarpyandHag]

Thank you!!!

[@Soapntina]

It’s nice to see the process, but have you written down the process?

[@laurascholz7334]

Could you put it in a blender, on the chop setting? Thank you for showing us the process.

[@HarpyandHag]

That's a good question! I haven't tried that myself, but I've heard it doesn't work as well... something about the maceration process of the blender ruining the pigments or you actually ending up with less, but I'm curious to try! Let me know if you do!

[@abigailgriffin6690]

I've been watching your woad videos recently and your dedication is truly inspiring. I was wondering though, is it safe to process woad with your kitchen pots and utensils? Or do you have pots and utensils specifically for processing dyes?

[@HarpyandHag]

Yes! Thanks for watching and commenting! As I mentioned, you can actually eat woad leaves (and, in hard times, they have been added to salads, etc.). The only element that you'd have to be careful about is the soda ash, but you use such a small amount, I would not be terribly worried, of you're using stainless steel pans. Just to be safe, I have separate pans that I've bought from second hand stores that I use for processing woad and a separate thermometer.

[@abigailgriffin6690]

@@HarpyandHag Great, thank you! I must have missed it when you said woad is edible.

[@alicett219]

E' molto bello quello che hai fatto e forse ancora più bello quello che hai detto(mi. Viene quasi da piangere) sono un acquarellista italiano professionista ti chiedo se c'e' un antiossidante per il blu e il rosso fuxia che estraggo dal cavolo rosso con bicarbonato e aceto. Grazie e grazie per i tuoi video fatti con amore

[@nancyskinner5207]

To me it smells like skunk as you’re doing the vat. Regardless of what it smells like, once you smell it it is instantly recognizable.

[@HarpyandHag]

Hahaha, you're not wrong! Once you smell it, you'll never forget it!

[@bashkillszombies]

This is way too long for me to sit through, but given you had problems extracting have you ever looked into woad balling? Crushing the water out the leaves and compacting them into dry balls for storage. You lose about 10% dye but you won't have the same problems you had of hyper hydrated leaf stock perhaps.

[@valeriedroegemueller356]

Noice

[@HarpyandHag]

Thanks!

[@anettebrogaard]

funny husband :)

[@bashkillszombies]

But indigo and woad are not the same color. I keep hearing American's say this. I don't know if you're using the wrong kind of woad (dyers woad is common in the US, whereas real woad isn't) but woad is a bright blue - indigo has a purpleish (i.e. indigo) color to it. Woad blue and indigo are NOT the same thing. Indigo became common there because it grows better than woad, not because it yields more, because they are totally different colours.

[@comradesoupbeans4437]

it's literally chemically the same, the woad plant (Isatis tinctoria) and "true" indigo (Indigofera tinctoria) both contain the same compound that gets extracted to make dye

[@HarpyandHag]

I appreciate what you're saying...on one hand, you're right. They both have the same pigment which is where the blue comes from - indogtin (indoglobulin). What you're wrong about or missing is that the two types of plants (many types of indigo) do NOT create the same kinds of blues, because of OTHER pigments that are in each plant. Some similarities, but some marked differences. With practice with both, you'll see.

[@HarpyandHag]

Please see my comment for more clarification.

[@katehenry2718]

Lasted to .06.

[@HarpyandHag]

Haha, RUDE!