Natural dye experiments: comparing two different mordants for dyeing with ivy berries

Hello friends! Today we are going to get experimental. I have an abundance of ripe ivy berries in my wild garden, so I want to dye some wool with them. But as a purple natural dyestuff plus alum almost always equals to green dye, I wanted to experiment with another mordant. Since last fall I have been collecting oak galls of gall-nuts. As they are rich in tannins, they are both a dyestuff in themselves but can also be used as a mordant. So that's what we're going to be experimenting with today. I experimented as per instructions of Jenny Dean's Wild Colour. Also, always take safety precautions when dyeing indoors. In a second part we're also going to look at a little solar dyeing experiment I have completed over the past winter. Did I make dye or a lethal fungus? #crafting #naturaldyeing #botanicaldyeing #ivyberries #dyeingwool #dyeingyarn