Hey I’m today’s stop on the blog tour for this beautiful new book! I have been excited about The Modern Natural Dyer by Kristine Vejar since I first heard about it – Kristine is the founder of A Verb for Keeping Warm, the naturally dyed yarn company and shop in Oakland.
Like the shop (I had the opportunity to visit several years ago – excellent place!) and AVFKW yarn, this new book is absolutely gorgeous! The photos of all the dye materials and hand-dyed fibers and fabrics make for a book I just want to keep flipping through for the visuals, and then it’s of course packed with all the info you need to know to start natural dyeing.
Every type of dye material gets a photo spread showing what it looks like, and what colors you’ll get on different kinds of fibers – so many awesome colors you can get out of nature, especially in the yellow-orange range, which you know I love!!
I took a natural dyeing class with Kristine a few years back – a short lecture intro class – and basically came away feeling overwhelmed and like I probably wouldn’t find the time or motivation to take the next step and actually try anything I learned about. But this book gives me new inspiration, and a new feeling that I CAN manage to take that step, now that it’s all broken down in so much detail for me here.
Not only did I receive a review copy of the book, Kristine was super generous and sent me a dye kit as well! I chose the indigo kit because I am totally in love with all the indigo projects in the book – the A Verb For Keeping Warm website has this kit and three others: dye with flowers, madder, weld, logwood, or cochineal. All the kits are for specific projects in the book, so they include not just the dye materials but also the items to dye, and anything else you need, like thread, to complete the project.
The indigo kit I got is for the Waves Bandana project, so it includes two white bandanas for me to dye – a perfect way to try out indigo dyeing for the first time before I use it on something bigger. The bandana project is an introduction to bound resist dyeing – the fabric is wrapped, or bound, so the dye doesn’t touch certain places. I love how the bound fabric looks as it’s being dyed!
Pretty much everything I need is there in the jar. The kit should be enough for me to dye several medium sized items, so I’ll be pulling a few things from my closet to dip in there after the bandanas!
Indigo can be used on both cellulose-based and protein-based fibers, but they react differently, and it seems fabrics like cotton and linen are an especially good fit. I have a plain cotton dress that might be the perfect thing!
The book includes many different kinds of indigo projects – it teaches using indigo with different types of fabrics/fibers, dyeing with other natural dyes along with the indigo to get different colors, creating variegated yarn, bound resist dyeing, pole wrapping (that is a COOL looking technique!), stitch resist dyeing, and folding & clamping.
One of my favorite projects is this Fishbone Dress, made with the stitch resist technique. You sew the fabric in bunched up lines, then dye it, to create those fishbone looking stripes – so cool! Plus, I love the idea of dyeing already-existing clothes to make them special, like this basic linen dress:
Okay so here’s the best part of this blog post: giveaway! One very lucky reader will receive the book and one of the kits of your choice!!
To enter the giveaway, leave a comment here saying what item you’d love to natural dye (it could be an item of clothing you already own, a skein of yarn to knit into a shawl, some linen fabric to sew into a shirt, etc). I’ll do a random drawing a week from today, Wednesday November 4th, and I’ll reply to the winner’s comment. Make sure you receive replies to blog comments in your email inbox, or check back here next week to see if you won!
Update 11/4: Giveaway is now over – congrats to commenter fasdy on her win!! You can find the book and the awesome kits all for sale on A Verb for Keeping Warm’s website here!
If you want to see lots more peeks into the book, and at different kits and projects, follow the rest of the posts in the blog tour!
Oct 20 STC Craft
Oct 23 DIY Network
Oct 26 Mason Dixon Knitting
Oct 28 Leethal
Oct 30 Mary Jane Mucklestone
Nov 2 Very Shannon
Nov 4 Make Something Blog
Nov 9 Heather Ross
Nov 11 Tolt Yarn and Wool
Nov 16 Made by Katrina
Lee Does Stuff 
I have a few cones of cotton yarn I’d love to dye naturally and then knit them into a thick squishy rug.
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I like overdying clothes I already own to make them one of a kind. I have used RIT and acid dyes but natural dying would be so much better.
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Hmm I have a number of jeans that are looking tired that I’ve been thinking of overdying something fun. I’d been thinking red , but I’m not sure I could pass up the opportunity to try logwood. I’ve worked a lot with cochineal, and spent a month playing with an indigo dye bath once, but have never had the opportunity to work with logwood. Isn’t the color somewhat pH sensitive?
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I was going to say that I bought some undyed yarn that I’ve been thinking about dying for a shawl, but you had to mention clothing and I have a linen shirt that is looking for a new life.
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I love that fishbone project so much I think I would buy a linen dress just to make it! I went to the store launch, and Kristen had dyed a length of fabric for each employee, and they had all made their own piece of clothing to wear. One woman had made a dress using the fishbone technique (though her fabric was dyed with something that made it khaki, not indigo), and it was soooooooo beautiful! Alternatively, I’d be very tempted to dye up some lovely woolen-spun Cormo yarn into a variegated skein.
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I would most like to dye some fabric to make a quilt! I have dues some yarn, but only with onion skins, avocado, and red cabbage. So it would be fun to try dying some more yarn with other dyes! Although that fish one project is also pretty amazing!
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I love your photos and review. I too felt a bit intimidated by the process of natural dyeing, but Kristine’s book makes it so approachable. I am completely in love with Verb’s naturally dyed yarns, so I’d really like to dye some of my yarn – I have a few natural skeins lying about. And the sewing kit project looks amazing! Also, my kiddos are lining up with stained shirts and shorts that they want dipped in indigo (the best blue, according to them!) after seeing the pictures in the book. Thanks for hosting this giveaway!
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When I moved to Oregon 28 years ago, I thought I’d try dyeing. I had no idea what I was doing, but that didn’t stop me, so I gathered some Queen Anne’s lace, did my best imitation of Granny Clampett by standing over and stirring a steaming pot for hours, and ended up with wool the color of pee that felt like Brillo. I still have some undyed wool from my long-gone sheep and would like to try it again with the guidance of Kristine’s book.
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I have a thrift store white wool coat that I bought especially to dye, but I haven’t had the courage to go ahead with it; in the meantime, I’ve been experimenting with gathering plant materials and dyeing small sekins of wool. The book looks stunning, and coming from Kristin Vejar, it will certainly be packed witn priceless information. Thank you for the giveaway!
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Oh my goodness…I have this butter soft cashmere scarf/shawl thing. Love the fabric, but it is Bright Lime Green (which, is generally cool, but right up next to my face it’s just too much). Something like this could be perfect to turn it from ‘languishing in the back of my closet’ to ‘why yes I’ve worn this every day this week, what about it?’
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I would love to try dying yarn! I have some natural yarn sitting in my stash that would be so fun to dye!
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I have a cotton lawn that I would love to dye to make myself a top.
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I think I may need to try the fishbone dress ….it is gorgeous! Thanks for the offer!
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I just purchased some organic cotton yardage to use in an Alabama Chanin project. It would love stunning in indigo. Thanks for the chance to win this fabulous book!
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I’d love to overdye some yarn or a dress I have that’s too close to my skin tone. Thanks for the chance to win!
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I love what you did with the fishbone dress. Cute!
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I have some linen fabric from an old tablecloth — I’d love to dye it and then make it into a shirt or jumper.
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I would die some wool and fabric and make it into a hat and some clothes for my daughter. Maybe a pillow case, too. Such a lovely book, I will be buying it in any case!
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I’ve been learning to spin and weave, being taught by a talented Coast Salish weaver. The weaving is wonderful – but it’s the spinning that’s captured my heart. I had to buy my own spinning wheel and I just can’t stop spinning. I’ve been spinning bulk, un-dyed fleece and I have all these skeins that are…crying out to be dyed. Dying isn’t something I have really done before (aside from a couple kool-aid dyed play silks for kids when they were little) and this book and a kit would be such an amazing way to experiment with my blank skeins!
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I would love to try dyeing. I’ve read lots of good things about the book. I would love to win flowers at my fingertips kit. I’d like to grow some of the dye plants in my garden. Savannagal on Rav.
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We’ve been doing a breed study in my spinning group, so I have a lot of recently spun yarn to dye!
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i would dye some natural color yarn i have. I am also consider a natural color skirt.
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Ooh, I’d love to learn to use pomegranates from my tree and some native plants for dyeing sheets, clothing and other textiles. Such a cool giveaway!
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Woooohoo you are the WINNER, fasdy! Congrats!! Reply to this comment email and let me know your mailing address, or reply here in the comment thread with your email address, and I’ll contact you.
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Ahh! Awesome! Thank you!
E-mail: fasdian@gmail.com
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thank you lee for your beautiful blog post!
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So excited about this book! i have some gorgeous, slubby silk that i’d love to dye with natural methods.
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Looks like a fabulous book! I have several yards of cotton that I’d like to dye for comfie shawls. Thank you!
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I would love to overdye some white and cream pieces I have to give them new life! Gorgeous book.
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This book looks so inspiring. I would love to dye linen or cotton fabric and sew it into a simple top.
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I’d love to dye some clothes I got from the thrift store
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I’d love to indigo dye a linen tank I sewed this summer. Thanks for hosting the giveaway.
Kea
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Just loving all the pics! I’ve done a little bit of casual dyeing here and there, I overdyed some old tees in a friend’s indigo vat a few months ago. I have a linen skirt I want to overdye soon – fit and swing are still great, but some stains are getting too much to overlook.
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I would dye some yarn to knit a hat or a shawl!
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I would dye some yarn for my wife, so she can start another knitting project.
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I’d dye some undyed yarn for a fair isle project!
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Some undyed yarn to weave into something beautiful and blue!
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I would dye some fabric and make something later.
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tried I
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I’ve been to A Verb For Keeping Warm! I went on a yarn crawl and the folks there talked a little bit about the dyes they use, plus we got to meet the sweet angora rabbit they keep in the backyard area. I would love to try indigo dye on some yarn or on a plain white shirt; it’s such a beautiful color and I’d want to keep things simple so the color’s the focus.
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Oooooo….I have a couple of old sundresses that could definitely use a color pick me up!
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I would like to overdye a dress of my daughter’s that has faded terribly!
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