Description

Kite (Reseda luteola) Dyer's rocket (E)

Wouw has traditionally been the yellow dyer and has been used as a dye plant in Europe for centuries.

Family: Resedaceae
Paint: Yellow
Stain dye
Grand complexion

With kite you can dye bright shades of yellow and if you pickle it with iron(II) sulphate, the colour changes to green.
The stems and leaves are used to extract the dyes.
You can use it fresh, you do see it in the Netherlands in the south of the country, on dry calcareous soil.
Reseda is also available in dried form. It then comes from Turkey. This one has a higher content of colouring agent.
Have you felt like dyeing your yarn, your shirt or any other textile yellow, on this page you will find a basic recipe to start dyeing!

Facts about wouw

• … leaves of this plant turn a reddish color in autumn.
• … has a very long taproot that can grow up to a meter in length, making the plant drought resistant.

This is one of the natural dye products described in the book Eco-dye by Anja Schrik.

Additional information

Recipe

Basic recipe for 100 grams of wool, silk or cotton to dye yellow

Necessities:

- 100 grams of kite
– 15 grams of alum
– 2 grams of tartaric acid
– electric stove or stove
– 2 old (cast iron) pans
– apron, gloves
– laundry bag or cheesecloth
– (glass) jars, buckets or trays
– 1 cup vinegar
– 2 cups of household soda (if you are going to dye cotton)

Step 1: Wash (only if you are going to dye cotton, skip step 1 if you are going to dye wool or silk)
Fill a bucket with plenty of water and 2 cups of household soda and leave your cotton in it for 24 hours. Rinse well the next day.

Step 2: pickling
Dissolve the alum and tartaric acid in a jar of hot water. Put 3-5 liters of water in the (pickling) pan and add the mixture of alum and tartaric acid. Soak the wool, silk or cotton in a bucket of water and add them to the pickling pan when they are completely soaked. Bring the temperature to 80 degrees (not warmer). Let it simmer for over an hour. Then let the fibers cool down slowly in the pickling bath. You can leave this overnight or get started right away.

Step 3: Dyeing
Put the kite in a wash bag and place it in the paint pan with 3-5 litres of water.
Bring the dye bath to about 80 degrees (no hotter) and simmer for an hour.
Lower the temperature to 30 degrees and add the wool, silk or cotton.
You can leave the kite in the wash bag in the dye bath during dyeing. Just make sure the fibres can 'swim' properly. Bring the temperature back up to 80 degrees (not hotter) and simmer for an hour.
Let the fibers cool slowly in the dye bath.
MC Tips:
1) For better results, soak the kite in water for 24-48 hours before starting step 3. Then pour the decoction through a wash bag into the paint pan and top up with enough water.
2) After cooling, leave the fibres in the dye bath for an additional night.

Step 4: fixate:
Rinse out the fibres and leave it in a bucket of water with 1 cup of vinegar for an hour. Then rinse well again and hang to dry. Wo(u)w, what a beautiful result!