7 Foraged Plants For Natural Dyeing - Rebecca Desnos

7 FORAGED PLANTS
for na t u ra l dyeing
REBECC A DESNOS
Welcome to the world of natural dyes!
This little guide is a collection of beautiful colour swatches, all
made from wild plants. You’ll have your own unique selection of
dye plants on your doorstep.
There’s colour potential all around you waiting to be unlocked.

Enter the world of botanical dyeing where a stroll through your
garden or the local woods takes on a brand new meaning. You’ll
begin to notice new plants and develop a deeper relationship
with your surroundings. You’ll soon discover your local wild plants
(which some people cheekily call weeds!), as well as garden herbs
and kitchen food waste... there’s dye potential all around you!
Natural dyeing is the perfect way to explore your creativity and

create beautiful, unique colours using only natural materials.
So come along on this journey of discovery and let's explore the

world of natural dyes together!
A note on safety
Please only touch or collect plants that you can identify with 100%
certainty. If in doubt, take a photo and study it when you get home.
Some plants are toxic and it’s your responsibility to keep safe.
Copyright Rebecca Desnos 2023

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Alder cones
Oak galls
Acorns
Nettles
7 FORAGED
Reeds
dye plants
Buddleja
Hawthorn

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Alder cones are rich in tannins
and make warm shades of caramel, which
can be easily darkened to a rich grey with
the addition of iron. Dye your fabric in
alder cone dye, then dip the fabric into a
bath of iron water to instantly transform
the colour to grey.
Other tree cones, such as redwood and

pine, make different dye colours.
Tannins are naturally occurring

compounds found in seeds, leaves, cones,
bark and fruit. Tannins play an important role in natural dyeing both as a dye and as a
mordant (fixing the dyes to the fibres). Tannins are actually a natural mordant.
Oak galls are an incredible

source of tannins and the dye turns grey/
black with the addition of iron. Just a
small handful of galls can be used to
make dark ink for painting or printing (see
photo on the right).
Oak galls, also known as gall nuts or oak

apples, are small swellings found on
oak trees and are particularly useful for
natural dyeing as they are exceptionally
high in tannins. Gall wasps lay eggs on
young shoots of oak trees and the tree
reacts to the invasion by growing new plant material around the larvae. A hard round ball is
produced – the oak gall – which becomes the larvae’s home. When we collect oak galls from
branches, little holes can be clearly seen which shows us that the wasp has emerged.

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Acorns are the nuts of oak trees. All
parts of the oak tree contain tannins and
can be used for dyeing: the leaves, tree
bark, acorns and galls. It is the galls that
contain the most tannins.
Acorns produce beige and brown dye and

this can be transformed into a mid-grey
colour with the addition of iron. Dye your
fabric, then dip it into a bath of diluted
iron water. You can either use homemade
iron water or dissolve ferrous sulphate
into water. You’ll see the brown fabric
instantly transform to grey.
Nettle is a very useful wild plant

that is edible and medicinal, the mature
stems can be used to make fibre, and the
plant tops make beautiful dye.
Nettles make shades ranging from beige,

to brown, and grey to green. For the best
chance of making this green/grey shade
(pictured), use the fresh top growth of
young nettle plants. The more mature
leaves tend to produce browner shades.
Heat the plant tops very gently (don’t
boil) and slowly extract the dye. The dye
will usually oxidise and darken.

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Common reed (Phragmites
australis) is a species of flowering plant in
the grass family. When I first dyed with this
plant, I was amazed by the intense green-
yellow dye that the purple flowering
tops produce. The brightest dye is made
from the freshest flower tops. The season
doesn’t last long! Use minimal heat, and
allow the flowers to soak in hot water and
slowly extract the dye. Then strain out, and
dye your mordanted fabric.
Buddleja (Buddleja davidii), also

known as butterfly bush, has fragrant
flowers that are a favourite nectar source
of butterflies.
There are many varieties of buddleja that

come in a range of colours including
white, lilac, pink-purple and dark purple.
I’ve dyed with buddleja countless times
over the years and on every occasion
I’ve effortlessly made luminous yellow.
Interestingly, when I compared lilac,
dark purple and white flowers, it was the
white flowers that produced the brightest
colour. All types of buddleja are worth
trying in your dye pot and even the
“spent” brown flowers produce yellow dye.

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Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna)
is a very common tree in parts of the
UK, and other areas within Europe and
North America. Not only is this an edible
and medicinal plant, but the leaves, bark,
blossom and berries make beautiful dye.
Collect plant tops from many trees - just

a few stems here and there, so you don’t
strip too many from any one tree. Ideally
wear thick gardening gloves as the
branches are thorny.
As you embark on the wonderful world of natural dyeing...

Get ready to see your local surroundings in a whole new light. Within your very own back
garden or local park lies a world of untapped potential, where botanical colours are at your
fingertips. By gently coaxing out vibrant hues and unlocking the dyes from the plants that
surround us, we can unleash a cascade of beauty.
W O U L D YO U L I K E TO L E A R N M O R E A B O U T N AT U R A L DY E I N G ?
I’ve written several books including these two:
Botanical Colour at your Fingertips will help you get started

with plant dyeing in the simplest way. Dye with foraged plants
and kitchen waste such as avocado skins and pomegranate
skins.
Grow Your Own Colour will empower you to start a dye

garden no matter how little space you have. I’ll show you
how to use your homegrown plants to dye fabric and make
beautiful patterned flower prints. Available in print and digital on
rebeccadesnos.com

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MEET Rebecca Desnos
Rebecca Desnos is a natural dye artist, author and educator based in the UK.
For the last decade, she’s been exploring the colourful world of natural dyes
with a particular focus on wild, foraged and homegrown plants.
She does all of her creative work whilst juggling life as a mother of three, and
quite literally writes books during nap times. Since 2016, Rebecca has self-
published 10 books and magazines.
Rebecca is responsible for getting thousands of people hooked on avocado dye

(her favourite) as well as many other dye plants.
Starting plant dyeing over a decade ago was a pivotal moment in her life as
she finally felt creatively satisfied. With degrees in Linguistics and also Interior
& Spatial Design, she has a diverse background. Rebecca spent many years
searching for her passion in life and discovered that natural dyeing was it. It
turned out that this craft unites lots of interests: a love of colour, a passion
for hand crafts, the desire to get to know her local surroundings, and also an
interest in creating non toxic/healthy fabric and clothing.
Passionate about encouraging people to try plant dyeing, her speciality is to

make this craft simple, stress-free and fun.
website / instagram / facebook group

REBECC A DESNOS

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7 FORAGED PLANTS

There’s colour potential all around you waiting to be unlocked.

Natural dyeing is the perfect way to explore your creativity and

So come along on this journey of discovery and let's explore the

Copyright Rebecca Desnos 2023

Copyright Rebecca Desnos 2023

Other tree cones, such as redwood and

Tannins are naturally occurring

Oak galls are an incredible

Oak galls, also known as gall nuts or oak

Copyright Rebecca Desnos 2023

Acorns produce beige and brown dye and

Nettle is a very useful wild plant

Nettles make shades ranging from beige,

Copyright Rebecca Desnos 2023

Buddleja (Buddleja davidii), also

There are many varieties of buddleja that

Copyright Rebecca Desnos 2023

Collect plant tops from many trees - just

As you embark on the wonderful world of natural dyeing...

I’ve written several books including these two:

Botanical Colour at your Fingertips will help you get started

Grow Your Own Colour will empower you to start a dye

Copyright Rebecca Desnos 2023

Rebecca is responsible for getting thousands of people hooked on avocado dye

Passionate about encouraging people to try plant dyeing, her speciality is to

website / instagram / facebook group

Copyright Rebecca Desnos 2023

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