Natural Dyes ·Dec 31, 2019

Plant-based & Natural Color Dyes

Look at that gorgeous pink color on that Eri silk yarn. Not all of our colors come from plants. This azalea pink is made with an ingredient from an insect's secretion. Lac is the name of this very tiny insect (Laccifer lacca) which is parasitic on certain trees found in our state of Meghalaya, India. This insect secretion is cultivated and cooked into a dye bath with plant mordants, and this is the result!

"Maintaining one’s culture, values and traditions is beyond price"

~ GINANO LUI

Gooseberry Tree Bark: A Natural Color Dye

Discovering and creating natural dyes from what’s available in their surroundings is something that the women in villages of Umden, Mawlong, and Margnar are proud of. Creating plant-based color is an heirloom knowledge that has been passed down from their forefathers.

women weavers trek to the nearby forest to collect mordants and plants for dyeing.

Weavers collecting plants from the forest

creating orange color from the annatto seed- bixa orellana

Collecting, preparing, processing, and boiling the plants in the dye bath.

annatto plant with seeds for plant-based dyeing

The natural color dyes are inspired by nature

The Muezart team spent a week with a group of women in the Ri-Bhoi village. We were trained in natural dyes. Each day we were inspired and amazed at the color that comes from the combination of plants, mordants, insects, and minerals all collected from the forest.

plant-based colored eri silk yarn - Muezart

Working Together As a Team

The women from the villages come together as a community where they laugh and enjoy their work to continue to preserve this unique tradition of natural dyeing. The Eri silk fiber is a protein fiber and it absorbs the natural dye bath so well. The color of nature is beautiful and everyone is in awe of what mother earth has to offer.

Weavers Carry on the Traditions of Their Forefathers

Kong B. Syiem and her weaving friends have now archived more than 40 natural plant-based dye colors.

natural plant-based mordants for fixing the dye color

The mordant used to make the color stick to the fabric is made from leaves and bark.

“I love discovering plants for creating dyes, I want to learn more it doesn’t matter if it takes a year learning is a continuous process”

~ Kong B. Syiem, one of Muezart's weaving partners

What is unique and different about the process of natural dyeing practiced in Meghalaya is that the artisans follow an “All Natural Color Dye” process. The color is fixed with plant mordants. This is rare since most dyers use alum or other chemicals for fixing the color.

turmeric natural color dye for eri silk yarn

Experience Natural Dyeing

The Muezart team would love for you to experience the full cycle of a naturally dyed fiber like Eri Silk. Find out more about experiences. Let's connect and #flourishtogehter