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As demonstrated in this episode, you don't have to spent money at a craft store to have some beautiful colors to work with. Most dyes can be found in your own backyard; roots, nuts, leaves and flowers are just some of the ways that you can get colors to dye clothing or just do some painting.
Before you start dyeing, be sure that your flowers, nuts and roots are fully mature. When you're gathering plants for dyeing, never take more than 2/3 of a species-otherwise, it won't be available the next time you want to dye something.
To make your dye, chop the material into small pieces and place it in a pot. You should have twice as much water as you have plant material. Bring to a boil, and then simmer for about an hour. Strain it. If you are dyeing fabric, soak it in the water. The longer you leave it in, the deeper your shade will be.
To make fixatives for berry dyes, mix ½ cut of salt to 8 cups of cold water. For plant dyes, mix 4 parts of cold water to 1 part vinegar. Add your fabric to the fixative and simmer for an hour, Rinse the material and squeeze out the excess, and then rinse in cold water until the water runs clear.
Plants to Use for Colors:
Orange: bloodroot, sassafras leaves, onion peels, gold lichen
Brown: wild plum root, oak bark, sumac leaves (NOT poison sumac), walnut hulls, juniper berries, boiled acorns
Pink: strawberries, cherries, red raspberries
Light green: lily of the valley leaves
Red: Sumac fruit, dandelion root, beets, rose hips, red onion skins
Blue / purple: mulberries, red cabbage, elderberries, blueberries, cherry root, blackberries, inner bark of red maple tree
Red / purple: pokeweed berries,
Gray / black: iris roots
Green: spinach leaves, black-eyed Susans, grass, nettle
Yellow: Turmeric, saffron, cumin, red clover, marigold, Queen Anne's Lace, dandelion flower
Black: sumac leaves (NOT poison sumac)
Peach: Virginia creeper
From pioneerthinking.com
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