Botanical Dyes on Wood Contributor(s): Desnos, Rebecca (Author)

Learn to dye wood with homemade dyes from plants!

I've been dyeing beads for years and for the first time I've written down my entire dyeing process to share with you so you can dye your own. This book isn't limited to beads though - I'll share my tips for painting dye on other wooden surfaces too - even small items of furniture! The possibilities with plant dyes are endless. Have fun exploring!

• extract dye from plants you already have easy access to
• choose plants that give longer lasting colours
• apply the methods to other plants to develop your own colour palette
• make concentrated dyes that are suited for dyeing and painting wood
• pretreat wood in soya milk to achieve darker colours
• dye and paint beads, buttons and other small items
• dye wood evenly
• paint larger surfaces and even furniture!
• paint patterns on round beads
• use iron to widen your colour palette
• store the dyes in the fridge and keep them for future projects
• seal in the colour with oil or other sealants
• paint concentrated dyes with a brush on wood
• use the same dyes on paper and fabric!