Dying wool naturally - eucalyptus

 When I first started spinning, my parents gifted me with a large bundle of carded white wool from the sheep on dad's farm. I believe it's a sort of romney mix. It's soft, only a little coarse, and comes up beautifully fluffy and white when washed.

I've recently become interested in using plants as a natural dye. My bible when it comes to fleece, spinning and dyeing is 'The New Zealand woolcraft book', by Constance Jackson and Judith Plowman. It was printed in 1983, but is the most informative, helpful book that is available on the subject (in my opinion, anyway!) They talk about using mordants (chemicals which influence the colour) but I wanted to just use a plant itself as a really 'back to basics' method.

 The plant I decided to use was a eucalyptus (gum) tree. One with rounder, rather than long, leaves. I gathered semi dried leaves, ripped them up, crushed the twigs, and put them in a quickly sewn cotton bag. The bag was added into a large soup pot half full of water and left to steep for 3 days. I then brought it to a simmer for a few hours on the stove, and let it cool. The wool was soaked in warm water for half an hour, and then added to the soup pot, which then was brought to a simmer for another few hours. I let it cool, and then rinsed and dried the wool. It's light and fluffy, doesn't smell like anything, really, and is now this interesting golden colour. I was expecting more of an orange, and don't know how colourfast it will be, but I'm excited to spin it! The next thing is - what to make? and what natural dye to try next?

Above - naturally dyed wool. Below - (the before) washed undyed wool.