{"id":5649,"date":"2020-07-27T13:16:13","date_gmt":"2020-07-27T12:16:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.florisbooks.co.uk\/blog\/?p=5649"},"modified":"2025-08-01T09:42:01","modified_gmt":"2025-08-01T08:42:01","slug":"a-rough-guide-to-natural-dyeing-with-marigold-flowers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.florisbooks.co.uk\/blog\/2020\/07\/27\/a-rough-guide-to-natural-dyeing-with-marigold-flowers\/","title":{"rendered":"A rough guide to natural dyeing with marigold flowers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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In Spin a Scarf of Sunshine<\/a><\/em> by Dawn Casey and illustrated by Stila Lim<\/a>, Nari lives on a small farm with hens and bees and apple trees, and cares for a little lamb of her own. The seasons turn and Nari’s lamb grows into a fine sheep with a fleece that is ready to shear. Nari and her family use traditional skills to transform the fleece into a cosy scarf, as they shear, spin, dye and knit.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here, author Dawn Casey explains how to dye fabrics or yarn using marigold flowers – just like Nari! <\/p>\n\n\n

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French marigolds<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Top tip:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both tall marigolds (the African marigold – tagetes erecta) and dwarf marigolds (the French marigold – tagetes patula) are easy to dye with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instructions:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. First, gather some marigold flowers. As a rough guide, if using fresh flowers, you will need twice the weight of flowers to yarn \/ fabric. If using dried flowers, use an equal weight of flowers to yarn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Make a dye bath: cover the flowers with water in a pan. (The exact amount of water does not matter.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Bring the dye bath to the boil, and simmer for about half an hour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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4. Strain the flowers out of the pan, retaining the coloured liquid \u2013 this is your dye.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. If you want to dye yarn, loop it into a loose skein, tied with a couple of pieces of thread. This allows the dye to circulate through the strands more easily.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Looped yarn ready for the dye bath<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

6. Add whatever you want to dye (such as yarn or fabric) to the dye in the pan. Simmer for between 30 mins \u2013 1 hour, depending on how deep you want the colour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

7. Allow the yarn to cool, then rinse it in cold water and hang up to dry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

8. Knit, weave or sew something sunny with your fabric or yarn!<\/p>\n\n\n

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We hope you’ve enjoyed learning how to dye with marigolds! To find out more about Spin a Scarf of Sunshine<\/a> <\/em>read an interview with author Dawn Casey here<\/a> and listen to an extract below from the Floris Books YouTube channel<\/a>, where Dawn reads from the book:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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