Hannah Thiessen is a passionate, self-proclaimed “wool obsessive”, who has worked in the yarn manufacturing, design, and production sector for the past decade. Through her books Slow Knitting (Abrams 2017) and Seasonal Slow Knitting (Abrams 2020), Hannah explores the relationship between the crafter and end project and seeks to provide a deeper, more holistic practice for fibre aficionados at all levels. On the Knomad blog, Hannah will be exploring natural dyeing on Knomad’s non-superwash bases, providing insight on the many natural dye products, extracts, and botanicals available to us, and expanding on the potential palette of color that surrounds us daily.
Continuing with our loose theme of exploring the world’s fascinating, dyeable materials from trees and branches, in this blog we’ll be applying Cutch, a dye that comes from the heartwood of the acacia catechu tree. This tree grows in India, Burma, Indonesia and Peru, and my cutch dye comes from the Indian variety and is […]
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With the advent of medical marijuana and CBD legalization sweeping the world, I’ve been seeing more opportunities to work with one of the oldest natural dyes: hemp. Hemp has long been used as a fabric and material base, but did you know that it’s also possible to dye soft yellows with the stems, stalks and […]
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Did you know that many of the most used natural dyes come from the wood of trees? Many trees have color in their twigs and branches, and all we need to do as natural dyers to unlock it is grind a few up and add hot water! Depending on where you live, it may be […]
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When looking at my shelf of undyed wool ready for color, I get excited about all the possibilities the natural world offers me! As a natural dyer, most of what I like to use in my everyday practice is foraged locally, from my garden, nearby fields, the side of the road, or my neighbor’s yards! […]
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The world around us is absolutely full of color, and humans have been attempting to discover, reveal, capture, and trade natural dye goods for centuries. Although you might be familiar with some of the most prized and well-known colors, there are thousands of everyday dye goods that surround us, waiting to be gathered, processed, and […]
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As an amateur, experimental natural dyer, I love playing with the potential colors that the world around me provides. Exploring local sources has become a secondary passion to my knitting practice and has given me a new view of the world around me. I recommend that even if you have no intention of naturally dyeing […]
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