Building a storage shed

The use of plants, bark, leaves, seeds, blossoms, lichens and wood to dye natural fibers has been going on for centuries all over the world.

It was perfectly natural for the pioneers to carry a supply of those that were not already growing wild here in Douglas County (MO). Herbs used for medicine were also brought along. Often the same herb was used for both purposes.

The woodland here was similar to what many people had left behind. However, some plants needed protection and cultivation. Madder roots when crushed gave a beautiful tomato red dye. Wild-yellow marigolds were cherished and of course indigo. The beautiful green orchard gave peach tree leaves. These were picked just before frost and placed to dry in an airy place to prevent mildew. A golden yellow could be looked forward to.

The very garden provided dye plants as well. Red cabbage for a tan; onion skins an orange; green tomato vines, gathered before frost and placed in the dye pot, simmered; blackberry vine leaves gave tan. The pasture had many weeds such as goldenrod (photo at left) to give us gold.

The woods provided so many colors. One would think as abundant as dye plants are in Douglas County (MO) that hardly anyone would go dashing off to the store to buy a package of commercial dye. The know-how, availability of materials, and time involved just about guarantees that most of us will take the easy way out and buy a box of dye, since we do have a choice.

Our lady pioneer had no such choice. She probably followed her mother or grandmother each time dye plants were gathered. By the time she was school age she probably knew the names of almost all of them. Her little hands were welcome. It took a number of dye plants to dye the fiber.

Different dye plants had to be gathered at different times of the year. Poke berries (photo at right) were probably used as soon as they were ripe. Remember they did not have canning jars 150 years ago, much less home freezers. Poke berries make beautiful red dye, especially with vinegar as a mordant. It does tend to fade. The colors or red are so glorious that even faded the are still worthwhile. A day of natural dyeing is messy even in the year of 1999. We can be reasonably sure that in the early 1800′s it was not that much different. Some dye plants were soaked in water for 24 hours of longer, then boiled, stained, and returned to the dye pot and simmered.

Dyeing an entire unspun fleece could be challenging. One could dye the yarn after it was spun or wait until the garment was finished. Smaller amounts of fleece could be dyed to provide contrasting stripes. Cotton and linen or combinations thereof were also dyed.

The availability of water especially during drouth years may have also influenced the times of drying.

Why was color so important in clothes? The soft natural whites and creams of wool and cotton are pretty by themselves. Were they artists? Was it spiritual? Some cultures revere certain colors as part of their religious belief. Here in Douglas County there was a far more practical side to this.

We have to remember in those days all laundry was done by hand, on a washboard and with lye soap. Some folks took their laundry to the creek and rubbed their clothes on the rocks to get them clean and then hung them on the bushes to dry. Bathing and changing clothes took place about one per week or longer if freezing weather was upon them. The tradition of a bath on Saturday may have gotten its start from this.

Light colored clothes were saved for wearing to church or whenever an occasion called for “dressing up.” Upon arriving home the entire family changed back into their every day clothes. White clothes were kept white by always washing them by themselves and boiling in a kettle to remove stains. Almost every family had a huge cast iron kettle sitting in the back yard where it could be filled with water and a fire built underneath it.

Some of us have heard the term,”he was dressed up. He had on a boiled white shirt.” People’s character was often judged by how white their clothes were, often under those circumstances the soft browns and tans and gold from black walnut (photo at left), hickory, elm, butternut were more than welcome. The list of dye plants is almost endless. Clothing, dyed with these, kept the family from looking too dirt stained before the next wash day.

Mordents were used to help set the color, change it, darken or brighten. Salt, Vinegar, cream of tartar, tin, chrome, copper and some spices. This list is lengthy also. Mordents and water solutions were made up, fiber or garment soaked in it, then placed in the dye bath. One dye bath could have several shades and colors produced from it, depending on the mordant.

Why would anyone want to do natural dyeing in 1999? It’s a journey of discovery a touching of the past, fun! The colors are more subdued and have a quality different than commercial dye. They do face more easily. Sometimes it’s difficult to obtain information on how and what material to gather as well as the process for dying the fibers. Persons interested may contact Country Heritage Spinning and Weaving Guild, Box 1505, Ava, Mo. They usually have a hands on workshop every year and visitors are welcome.

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