Dyeing with Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.)
“There’s rosemary that’s for remembrance. Pray you, love, remember.”
A common garden herb that can be used for dyeing is the Rosemary shrub. Used primarily as a culinary herb prized for its rich pungent flavour. Rosemary also has been used extensively as a medicinal herb for its astringent, spasmolytic, anti-inflammatory, expectorant, carminative, antirheumatic, analgesic, antimicrobial, and hypotensive properties.
Rosemary is one of the oldest aromatic herbs used for medicine, cosmetics and cooking. However, there is very little information on its historical use as a dye plant. It may be that due to herbal colourants are becoming more popular due to biodegradability, low toxicity, and green chemistry. That this shrub is only now being used as a dye.
Rosemary leaf contains phenolic acids, phenolic diterpenoid bitter substances, triterpenoid acid, flavonoids, volatile oils, and tannins. Although tannin is found within the leaves it is not a high concentration, so a mordant will be needed for clearest results.
Rosemary dye Recipe:
Rosemary sprigs - 100% WOF (weight of fibre).
Place cut sprigs about 5cm long into your dye pot and cover with water.
Bring the dye bath to medium heat and hold for 1hr. Let the sprigs cool and soak overnight.
Strain out the sprigs and compost.
Add your pre-mordanted, wet fibre to your dye bath and slowly bring the bath back up to medium heat for 1 hr.
Stir the fibre frequently to ensure an even dye on your fibre.
When you are happy with the colour remove the fibre from the dye and gently wring out the excess liquid.
Rinse your fibre in lukewarm water and pH-neutral soap and hang to dry away from direct sunlight.
Other Applications
Rosemary leaves can be used in bundle dyeing and will soft prints, they also leave your fibres smelling wonderful.
Dye Garden
Rosemary is easy to grow from seedlings. They require full sun, the more sun and heat, the more intense the aroma and flavour will be. Free-draining soil is a must, but rosemary is adaptable to virtually any soil except wet or waterlogged.
Prune Rosemary often and hard, that way they look nice and fresh and don’t become too woody. Sprigs can be used fresh or dry for dyeing.
To dry your sprigs cut a little longer and bundle together and hang in a well-ventilated, dry, dark place for 20-30 days. Once dry you can leave them in bundles and store them in a paper bag.
