How to Dye with Dyers Polypore / Phaeolus schweinitzii ​⁠

Today we are exploring one of the cornerstones of mushroom dyeing and fall foraging. The fungi known simply as dyers polypore, aka Phaeolus swinitzii. It’s a great starting off point for learning to dye animal fiber like wool, as well as plenty of colour nuance to explore if you’re an expert. Requiring fair less mushroom by weight than your fiber, this highly concentrated dyer will yield bright stable yellows, luscious golds and deep olive greens with every shade in between. Whether you’re new to dyeing or an old hand, this mushroom is wonderful to forage for and experiment with. Come explore and add this amazing macrofungi to your dyeing palette! While many plant dyes yield dark browns with an iron mordant, dyers polypore gives the rarer pure olive greens.
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For the playlist on natural dyeing with mushrooms:
• Natural Dyeing with Mu...
For the playlist on natural dyeing during the fall:
• Foraging and Dyeing in...
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I'm a wildlife ecologist who specializes in management and conservation of endangered species. I'm passionate about exploring the natural world and connecting people with nature through fiber and science.
Note: all equipment used in this video is solely used for dyeing purposes and never for cooking or food preparation. Please never cook using any of your dye equipment and always store your plants, lichens and mushrooms safely.

[@joshroolf1966]

Those deep golden 'field of grain at sunrise/set' colors are amazing, and a lovely olive to brown; quite the palette from one organism, hmmmm now I'm inspired, thank you!..:::😄💚💚💚

[@WildcraftDyeing]

Yay!!! Another mushroom dyer is born! Check out the video on the dyeing we did with IFFA (International Fungi & Fiber Symposium). We did all colours of the rainbow using mushrooms. :D

[@letslistentobooks894]

Really love your content and presentation ... thankyou!

[@WildcraftDyeing]

Aww, thanks so much! :D

[@fungiversum]

Hi Zoe, like your videos so much! Thank you for producing them! As a grandma from germany, understanding the english language is a little bit diffcult, but every video I learn more and more. Last year I began experimenting with mushroom dyes, at first with the dyers polypore, which grows in our little wood not far from the rhine. I found one dried at a pine trunk and even it was an old piece it gave a wonderful brown like copper. Do you think it's a good idea to simmer the polypore two times to get out more pigments? Or have I to wait for fresh ones?

[@WildcraftDyeing]

Dyers Polypore is a very concentrated mushroom - you should be able to get more colour from it for sure. I’m so happy you are dyeing with mushrooms! 🍄‍🟫 ❤️

[@nathalielaforge1966]

Thank you for this nice video ! A question, can we dye the mushroom fresh, I mean not dry it ?

[@WildcraftDyeing]

Definitely! For dyers Polypore you can do a 1:2 ratio (so twice the weight of fiber to mushroom). Most other mushrooms are in the 2:1 to 1:1 range but this one packs a punch. Happy dyeing! :)

[@neogeo8267]

I believe this dye is fluorescent under UV light - have you ever tried?

[@WildcraftDyeing]

Yes, many mushroom dyes (and a few plant dyes) will fluoresce under UV. That would actually make a good video. Haven’t thought of that before! I definitely think the art implications are immense!

[@landrymd]

So I found a dyer's polypore in my back yard under a pine tree today. Diced it up, I think I got all the grass and leaves out of it, into the food dehydrator it went. 13.4 ounces wet weight (it was very wet), dehydrator set to 120 degrees. do you think that's hot enough or should I go higher on the temperature?

[@WildcraftDyeing]

Hey - awesome! No that sounds good. FYI - I tried out a new mordant (titanium oxalate) on dyers Polypore recently and got a bright copper orange. This dye source is so amazing and stores so well. Yay!

[@landrymd]

I'm a novice at foraging, found a ganoderma tsugae a few years ago, dried it, kept it for a while before I learned what it was, what to do with it. That got me interested in foraging mushrooms. Amazing what can be done with them, in addition to eating them.

[@WildcraftDyeing]

@landrymd totally agree! Mushroom hunting is so much fun. I also find that foraging for dye mushrooms is a lot less stressful than food mushrooms (at worse you don’t get the colours you want). :D