Dyeing with Saffron

Recently I have been experimenting with a few new dyes and mordants to expand my colour palette, making new samples and forging ideas for 2022. My latest discovery is Saffron, the same as the spice used in cooking, it’s a great natural dye, giving a range of tones, from yellow, to orange, to rust and brown. Saffron is the dried stigma from the Saffron crocus flower, you can grow and cultivate it yourself but you need to pick a large quantity to produce a small amount of dye. My samples were successful, I achieved a bright orange, using an alum mordant and pomegranate powder as the tannin (which makes the colours stronger and last longer on the fabric). The linen fabric was first dyed with Madder, as I wanted a light terracotta base, I then painted over the top with Chlorophyll (green) Saffron (orange) Logwood (purple) and Coreopsis (ochre). Overall the fabric looks like a forest in autumn, all orange and rust coloured leaves glinting in the late afternoon sun.