AN EASY SOLAR DYE - IT

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Materials that can be used for color include such things as walnut hulls and bark, goldenrod flowers, red sumac berries, birch leaves, rhubarb stalks, and marigold petals. [EDITOR'S NOTE: See the article on page 181 for other suggestions.] There are literally hundreds of possibilities ... in fact, much of the fun of dyeing comes from experimenting with various plants and mordants to discover the range of tints that can be achieved.

DYE IT . . . YOU'LL LIKE IT!

Wool accepts color well, so yarn is a good choice for your first project. To dye enough yarn for a small knitted or crocheted item (such as a child's cap or a pair of baby boo tees), you'll need a one-gallon glass jar (plas tic just doesn't let the sun through well enough) with a lid, some alum and cream of tartar, four ounces of white wool, and—to provide the coloring—three-quarters of a gallon (more or less) of tightly packed marigold petals.

Gallon jars can usually be obtained free from a local drive-in or cafeteria (such outlets purchase mayonnaise or pickles in them). Alum and cream of tartar can easily be found at a grocery or drugstore. White 100% wool can likely be bought from most yarn or craft shops. And finally, your own garden, and your friends' and neighbors' yards, will probably be your sources of marigold petals. (To produce the best color possible, the flowers should be picked when they're in full blossom, and the petals stripped off and used right away.) Fortunately, marigolds are prolific bloomers, and cutting the mature flowers encourages the development of even more blossoms, so your experiment won't denude anyone's garden for long.

Once you've gathered all your materials, rewind the four ounces of yarn by wrapping it around the back of a kitchen chair (or looping it around your hand and elbow) to form a loose coil. Then, using white string —which won't muddy the dye—tie the coil here and there, in just enough places to hold it together. Next, thoroughly clean the jar and lid, then put in 1/4 teaspoon of alum and 1/8 teaspoon of cream of tartar ... and fill the container half full of lukewarm water, stirring it until the mordant is completely dissolved. Now, add the coil of wool yarn to the jar and pour in the fresh marigold petals to within one inch of the top. Add more water until all the ingredients are covered (you'll probably want to press down the petals and add more, if needed, while you're pouring in the water). When that'sdone, stir the combination with a long stick, put on the lid, and set the jar outside in a sunny spot.

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