Hi! My name is Marjo. I’m a freshly graduated Finnish Textile Designer. I tend to get really excited and absorbed in to new techniques and projects may it be gardening knitting or cooking. In the beginning of the summer I took part in natural dyeing class and got really excited about it. I packed my bags, left the city behind and retired to a family summer cottage and really got in to the world of natural dyes. I feel that I have only scratched the surface but I’m definitely hooked. I started this blog because I wanted to share my experiences in natural dyeing and other passions in my life.
I had some preconceptions about natural dyeing, that it is difficult, uncertain and that the results are mostly pale. I was soon proved wrong. It’s true that natural dyeing takes some time and patience, but the process itself is quite simple. Of course the results are not as precise as with shop bought dyes. Although we know that with birch tree leaves you get yellowish green and with onion shells orange or yellow the dyeing results are different every time. But I think that’s part of the fun.
Many different individual factors effect what the dyeing result will be: what time of year it is, where has the plant grown and in what conditions and what kind of yarn is been used. I think the colours are so beautiful and varied! And they all go together perfectly. I was surprised how vibrant and strong the colours can be.
In this blog I will be sharing with you my experiences so far. I hope you enjoy and if you have experience in natural dyeing I’ll be more than happy to hear about your experiences and get some tips. And vice verse if you are new to the technique, hopefully this blog will be useful to you and get you trying. I think it’s so much fun! I also feel that in a world where we can by almost everything ready made it’s important to value old skills and keep traditions alive. I have always loved nature and it is a very important part of my life, but during these past weeks I have realised that my knowledge of different plants is still quite limited and I have learned a lot about the nature around me.
The Easy Blues 