Interactive Primary Newsletter 37 Put some colour into your life

Dyeing for a change of look? Go natural! Before attempting any work with plants refer to the ASE publication, Be safe! (£6 + p&p from SSERC). See pages 30 & 31 for advice on potential hazards i.e. a Safety Code for using plants as well as a list of plants which primary children should not touch. Extracting the colour Squeezing the ripe fruit and collecting the juice can provide a convenient source of coloured extract in plants. Brambles, elderberries and cherries are plentiful in late Summer and Autumn (Figs 1a,b). You may know only too well from experience how effective fruit juice is at staining fabric, lips and skin!    Figures 1a & b - Brambles and cherries give good dyes Alternatively, the fruit and other parts of the plant, (Figs. 2a-e) e.g. leaves, stems and flowers can be cut up and soaked in water. If the colour is very pale, try heating the cut-up plant material and water in a microwave to give a deeper colour. This is often just a paler version of the starting material but surprisingly e.g. with the flower heads of purple buddleia, you get a deep yellow solution. The liquid from red buddleia gives a liquid which dyes fabric another shade of yellow. A beautiful red colour came from the leaves of an ornamental bush (Berberis), and this dyed material a strong shade of pink. It really is trial and error to find what plants in your local area will give good results.     Figures 2a & 2b - Cotoneaster and Hypericum    Figures 2c & 2d - Ragwort (important info) and Berberis Figures 2e - Thistle Dyeing cotton fabric