Elisabeth Beverley

    plant dyed wool - handknitting

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Because I only dye with freshly picked leaves, flowers and berries, the captured colour also captures the moment and the season and so the coloured wools become a record of the passing year. Spring starts with daffodils and shoots of nettles, comfrey and elder. By summer there are flowers such as chamomile, hollyhocks, golden rod and dahlias. Autumn elderberries, walnuts and toadstools take over and the year ends with winter twigs and ivy.

I have successfully experimented with woad and its beautiful blue and am growing it again. But in general the natural dye colours produced by native plants are mainly the earth colours - greens, yellows, greys, browns and pinks. The challenge and the pleasure for me is uncovering the range and subtlety possible within this spectrum and making beautiful colours throughout the growing season. The unpredictability inherent in both the plants and the process add to the enjoyment as well as making these colours unique.