Natural Dye
Natural dye is the art of using natural materials, rather than synthetic chemicals, as fabric dye. This is how it’s been done for thousands of years, up until very recently. The pigments found in many plants do not naturally bind to fabric. This requires the use of a mordant—usually a metal salt. However, there are a few plants that produce dyes that don’t need a mordant, including astringent (hachiya) persimmon, indigo, and black walnut, which I used to make a shirt in this video:
I learned almost everything I know about natural dyeing from Maiwa’s wonderful online resources.