Homespun Wool and Natural Dyes
(Page 5 of 5)
January/February 1972
by Salli Rasberry
Navahos prefer the spindle to the spinning wheel because the spindle both holds more yarn and allows the weaver more mobility while working. Learning the art of spinning is no mean feat—Navaho weavers are judged as much by the proficiency of their spinning as by the quality of their finished products—but with patience it can be done.
RELATED CONTENT
Native Dyes
R.W. LANG
According to NAVAHO NATIVE DYES (Bryan and Young, 1940), both orange-tan and yellow-tan dye, as well as a fine mordant, can be made from the evergreen juniper tree.
To dye 1 lb. of yarn orange-tan, boil 2 lbs. of bast, twigs and—if you like—berries in 4 gals. of water for one hour. Strain the mixture, add 1/4 cup raw alum and boil again while stirring well. Wet the yarn, add it to the dye and stir. Boil the wool one hour for a light shade and two hours for a darker one . . . then let the yarn stand overnight in the dye water. Follow with a good rinsing.
You can prepare yellow-tan dye from the evergreen junipers in the same way by omitting the alum and using no mordants.
To make a mordant of juniper gather the dryer branches, burn them over a wide container and catch the needle ashes (be careful to get ONLY needle ash). Collect 1 cup of these ashes, add 2 cups of boiling water, stir thoroughly and strain. The liquid is the mordant.
I haven't tried these recipes myself, but I've seen the end product in Navaho textiles and the colors are quite pleasing. Although the formulas refer to the one-seed juniper of the Southwest, the junipers found in Indiana might work just as well.
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