HOW TO NATURAL DYE WITH MADDER | BOTANICAL COLOUR | SHADES OF RED

BillyNou shop on www.billynou.com/
To buy madder powder: themazi.com/?aff=10
And to buy some gorgeous natural dyes and tannin products from a long standing family run business: themazi.com/?aff=10
How to naturally dye with madder powder, botanical colour, shades of red.
How do you dye cotton with madder?
what color is madder root?
how do you dye natural fibers?
How do you dye fabric naturally?
BillyNou is about the wonderful process of natural dyeing I do for my brand, life, motherhood and the trails and errors of making and crafting.
I’d like to inspire others to become more conscientious, to find a connection with nature and benefit from this immense and totally accessible energy.
I love what I do and try to live what I love. I offer you a window into my personal journey with the hope of being some benefit to you in one way or another.
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WEBSITE: www.billynou.com/

[@silvertrees]

hello, another lovely video and great madder results. I have dyed with madder for many years and will continue to experiment for many more to come. A few of the many things I have discovered. Boiling madder will give you oranges and browns. Madder varies greatly according to where it has grown, climate, soil etc... - some of the best madder I have used came from Iran and also a friend's garden in Cornwall. Exhaust dye baths can sometimes give great peachy shades. I like to experiment with cold water and solar dyeing. Copper as a modifier will give violet shades. I look forward to seeing your future experiments and videos. Thank you! (yes I was spindle spinning again as I watched:))

[@billynou]

Thank you so much for the tips!!! I love love that an experienced dyer like yourself is enjoying my videos 🌸🌸🌸

[@amandeepgupta5133]

This channel deserves more reach than it currently has. I love the subtle sense of aesthetics all her videos have.

[@user-ow7bi3se2b]

right?! I'm just waiting for it to blow up soon enough :)

[@billynou]

Haha thank you 🙏🏽🙏🏽

[@billynou]

That would be exciting 😆😆🥰

[@carolinedelahunty7859]

So happy to watch another one of your videos! This is really informative , I enjoy the fact that you are also learning and informing , it is such a vast and exciting world of dyeing ! The filming is excellent too... I just love your creativity and passion 🌺

[@billynou]

Thank you so much for the lovely comment!! I am learning so much it’s true! 👩🏽‍🎓

[@Elless33]

really nice comparison of outcomes with different materials and mordants! Thanks

[@feetjeforever]

Wauw this is truly magical. Amazing work, thanks for sharing this!!

[@billynou]

🤍🤍🤍🤍

[@kixiqu]

Thank you for this dyealong! I'll probably never do this but it was so fun to see.

[@billynou]

Haha thank you ❤️

[@ofeliarangel117]

Wonderful work. Congratulations for your talent and generosity by sharing your art! 🌸🇧🇷👏

[@billynou]

Thank you ☺️☺️🌱🌱

[@rosemaryfrew5571]

All the colours were beautiful. Thanks for sharing.

[@billynou]

Thanks for watching !🌺

[@neabezshen3197]

I am typically using madder to make pigments. Generally putting the ground up roots in a diluted acid bath to help break it down and release more of the alizarin that is trapped in the plant. I think I might try some dying since I am making a dye bath and then laking it to get the pigment. Might as well dye some fabric while I am at the dye bath stage. I find I can get three to four consistent processings with the plant matter before the color of the pigment fades to more of a pink or rose color. The initial pigments are quite red. Not sure if any of that helps anyone but it is a wonderful plant to work with. When making the pigment I am adding alum at an equal weight to the plant matter and heating to 65 to 68C for about 2 hours then straining and you get what looks like cherry koolaid more commonly referred to as red flavored koolaid here. The smell reminds me of wet ashtrays not really pleasant but does have a bit of nostalgia associated to it haha.

[@billynou]

Thanks for writing this! I’m sure it will be helpful to someone!! ❤️

[@pheart2381]

I'm doing this tomorrow,with the root which I left to soak overnight after pouring over hot water. Mordanted my cotton with fatakdi powder. Fingers crossed!

[@heathermiller1419]

SO inspiring 😍 terracotta pots suck all the water from the roots so it might not be getting enough water 💖💖💖 thank you for sharing these magical videos x

[@billynou]

Haha thank you so much!!! I will change it’s pot... just don’t want to hurt it 😬

[@hawthorngrove3629]

Hi, fantastic video as always. I'm yet to try Madder but I have some on its way and I'm super excited to get started.

[@billynou]

Good luck!! I doubt it will disappoint ❤️❤️

[@nehatewari9581]

ma'am, it was great how the colour came out. I know this plant but never knew the use. thanks for sharing.

[@billynou]

I hope you get to dance with her and enjoy some natural colour!

[@mettesibbern4326]

Amazing and inspiring video's - cant wait for more 😊

[@billynou]

Thank you! There will be more soon 🥳🤍🌱

[@sajanahelanjith1278]

Really love your videos ❤️ Your techniques remind me about the method used by buddhist monks to dye the cheewara.

[@billynou]

Ooo I love this ..... the orange I sometimes get from onions skins always makes me think of the monks in Thailand 🤍

[@Nassimzand]

Thank you very much for sharing your inspiring experiment. In Iran block stamp artisans have replaced madder with Alizarin. but I am trying to go back to roots. and also we use pomegranate peel powder to have orange/yellow. Instead of chalk we use alum. I am a beginner though, I try to have more accurate information in a while. Thank you again! :) warm regards from Isfahan

[@billynou]

Thanks for your info! And thanks for watching ❤️

[@denisespies1757]

Just started with natural dyes. Very good video!!

[@billynou]

Thank you

[@billynou]

How exciting to be at the beginning of the journey !

[@prabhuhari2511]

Nice...madder is the most beautiful n mysterious natural color ...many colours are hidden inside Madder.....

[@billynou]

It’s seem so!! So in love

[@malcolmmoore]

👌

[@diademglow3429]

very lovely work, the truest beauty is the most natural, everybody is on steroids it seems....

[@billynou]

Thank you .... Nature ✨💫🤍

[@soyouzsoyouz]

Oh poor tiny little plant ! It looks like it suffered from a too low light/heat ratio while germinating, I hope it'll grow stronger 🌱 Amazing video as always, the results are gorgeous !

[@billynou]

She’s doing well! She gets lots of love and I think she’s going to be fine! Haha 🤞🏾 thanks for watching 🥰

[@andreamorales8129]

Thanks so much for the video! I learned a lot. just one question, after you do the tannin bath you also make an alum bath, but how do you do it? Can you make a video about that :)

[@billynou]

Yes you do and you just give it a little time in the alum. It’s on my todo list 😉😅😆

[@josh-dane]

Hi Billy! Thank you for all your videos - they're great! I got into natural dying because of your content. I actually recently dyed some of my first shirts with madder root and was wondering how you go about softening your textiles post-dye? I know it'll be different depending on a bunch of factors, but I wanted to ask the same person who I followed to dye in the first place. I was thinking of just getting a standard fabric softener, but I wondered if you had any better methods (natural ones, perhaps). I dyed some standard Gildan cotton shirts, so nothing special. They are just really crispy/sratchy/dry now. Any ideas? Thanks!

[@billynou]

Hey love thank you so much for supporting me and watching our videos 🥰 If I have stuff fabric then I tend to just pop a splash of eco softener in there and it does the trick. Im sure there is a more natural way but I haven’t ever looked in to it 😬 I will now though 😉

[@josh-dane]

@@billynou Ok, awesome! Thank you. I'll look up some eco options.

[@aidamarkiw]

A video on cocchineal dyeing would be great....

[@billynou]

I will think about it... I do use cochineal very occasionally but I’m not quite sure about is as I’m not sure about the harvesting practices of the bugs... it leaves me with some questions ❤️

[@martamariamroz8438]

Wonderful video as always!! you are wearing a beautiful top! Did you made it? if not, where did you get it from? Hugs! marta

[@billynou]

Yes I made it! I was hoping to make some this summer but I’ll aim for next summer now 😅. ❤️❤️

[@aakshaarora1787]

I have loved watching your videos and want to experiment on my own.. please share the names of different mordants used..I cannot quite make out from listening..

[@billynou]

Hello. Thanks for watching! I talk about alum, alum acetate and tannins in this video 🤍🌱

[@mind.body.creative]

Hey, How did you achieve that light pink? I dyed using madder but could only achieve either a deep red ( using calcium carbonate ) or a peachish/salmon pinkk with only alum. Basically I want to experiment with avocado pits + madder root to get those pink but avocadis are not available in my are. Anyway to acheive the pinks with madder?

[@davinnaho]

Really inspired by your natural dye vidoes and binge watching 😍 just wandered whether you have tried using beetroot before?

[@billynou]

Oh thank you! Yes I have! I use it a lot with my daughter but not so much for big projects as the colour doesn’t tend to stay very long 🥰

[@davinnaho]

Thank you!!!! Its a really fun and educational activity for kids 💕💗 Am really interested in natural dyes now. Hope for the best 💕

[@annakreutz7429]

Please do a house tour!!!!!

[@billynou]

Haha ok!!! We are thinking about it 😅❤️❤️

[@prabjyotkaur8200]

Beautiful colours😍😍 Thank you for sharing this video. I have a question so can I use any sore of tannins before putting it in madder roots ( I'm from India and I have lots of pomegranates skin and harde powder available) so can I use these and achieve deep red colours.

[@billynou]

I think so yes but I would be mindful of using ones that give a lot of colour like pomegranate as you’ll have a yellow base and might end up with more orange colours 😊

[@pointegirl3]

I’d love to know where you get your fabrics from :) I’m having a hard time finding bamboo fiber and raw silk

[@billynou]

Hey I’m not sure where you’re based but I get some of my fabrics from the organic textiles company, they are a nice small company with good ethics but based in the Uk. and I also source a lot of vintage fabrics too 🌱

[@aidamarkiw]

In the US you can order such fabrics from dharmatrading.com

[@pheart2381]

Tried ebay? You have to be specific and type 100% pure silk and read the descriptions well. You might even get lucky and find a silk remnant or a preloved item you can use.

[@staarvsraainbow]

Are you wearing a top from a peppermint mag. Pattern? Rly cool choice of fabric! I might have to steal that idea from you & Remake it in a gauzy fabric

[@billynou]

No... I made it, inspired by an 80s wrap top I have☺️ I was going to try and make some for next year! Bite YES make one and I’d love to see how it turns out ❤️

[@staarvsraainbow]

@@billynou I will try! Anyways your top is lovely & suits you rly well!

[@sophievautour8573]

may i ask you where do you purchase your bamboo fibre? Also, have you already experimented with Ramie?

[@billynou]

I usually get mine from a company called organic textiles and no I haven’t 🙀☺️

[@nickmunoz8320]

I was wondering why i wasnt seeing your videos! I think i was unsubscribed to you but no worries, im back!

[@billynou]

Whaaat !! Glad you’re back 💙🌱🌹

[@cassandrabrown6434]

Do you think using (bamboo silk) would work with madder?

[@billynou]

Yes! Most of these samples are bamboo!

[@nikitajain8125]

I have tried dyeing with madder a couple of times in which chalk/lime gave results which were really red and the dye bath with citric acid gave colours that were more towards orange shade.

[@billynou]

Oh thanks! I wonder if I shouldn’t have put them in together 🤔 I am so happy with the colours any way but definitely want to experiment more!

[@jdmosaics]

@@billynou To obtain more orangey shades, fibers/fabrics can be dipped in a citric acid solution or water with vinegar added after dyeing. If you want reds and pinks only use CC. Where you bought your Madder powder from has a complete run down of how to use it and what colour from what modifiers. What tannin did you use as you didn’t say when talking about your fibres at the start? Also if you are soaking your fabrics for two hours, best to keep the tannin fibres in one pot and the un treated fibres in another. The tannin can leach out and contaminate the un tanned fibres. Cheers

[@sanghamitranift]

@@jdmosaics hi.. I've been trying my hand at dyeing with madder.. have achieved deep reds and orange shades but have been unable to achieve bright pinks/ light pink shades.. some insights would be really helpful. Thanks!

[@emilyporter1186]

This is really cool but I don't really understand how the chalk AND acid work? If chalk makes pH higher (hardens water), but acid makes pH lower, do they not just... Cancel out a bit?

[@billynou]

Yes I don’t think I was very clear. To get the redder tones go for harder water/ chalk People often use citric acid to shift the madder tones more orangey … so it depends what colour you’re going for 🤎

[@jdmosaics]

@@billynou Copper as a modifier will give Violet shades.. ❤

[@purvaharlalka2529]

Hii how can I dye cotton using madder for a red shade

[@yaupadeelekamwasam62]

Can we do it without tanning ?

[@billynou]

You may not get such a rich red ♥️

[@Jay-dj7vh]

Where are you girl??? Waiting for more experiments. Also today I'm going to dye with madder but add Soda Ash or Lime to make it bright red. Let's see how it turns out. P.S I don't know your name yet.

[@billynou]

Oooohhhhh we are still here!! We will have a video soon ☺️ How did your rd turn out? 🥰🥰

[@rkh7360]

The sunlight on the fabric when u were showing the colour was unnecessary.

[@billynou]

Excellent, thanks for your input …. Now we know for next time