Cochineal dye

An etsy customer bought this set...I'm so pleased they are going home together, and can't wait to see what she does with them. They're all dyed in cochineal, different fibers and different stages of dye exhaust. I'm doing a similar set in logwood for her - so far they're AMAZING. (Pics soon). What would YOU make with a set like this?

Cochineal dye is just amazing. It just goes and goes and goes, and provides brilliant shades of red and pink.

Dyeing with Cochineal

Here's a quick little photo journey of dyeing with cochineal.

First, mordant your fiber; I used alum. (note kitty prints...they were helping).

Next, tye your dyestuff in an old bit of cotton cloth or some cheesecloth.

Add it to a large dyepot full of water, and simmer for a while.

Add your fiber, and let it simmer (very gently) for a while, until you like the color.

Gently rinse fiber until the water runs clear, and hang to dry.


Repeat with more fiber until the dye material is exhausted. I got four different colors, with four different types of fiber, from one set of dyestuff. I did not change mordants or do anything different; the colors simply change with different fiber blends and as the dye materials give up their color to the fiber.

And then you have beautiful fiber! This is a cashmere/wool blend yarn.

And this is a silk mawata, or spinning hankie.