Spinach

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The spinach plant originally comes from Persia, was widely grown over the course of history in Eurasia, and is in the family Amaranthaceae. This leafy plant wasn’t brought to the Americas until the 1700s, and it has enormous nutritional value. For this reason, Spinach can be found almost anywhere and is in many dishes across the world, but, in addition to being used in food it can also be utilized as a dye/pigment.

The colors in Spinach are derived from the chlorophyll in the plant’s leaves. Chlorophyll is a particular molecule present in almost every plant on Earth that traps light, acting as a photoreceptor and facilitating the process of photosynthesis. The green hue we perceive is the result of this specific wavelength of light being reflected off of the chlorophyll while it absorbs most other wavelengths of visible light.

While this plant is eaten in many dishes, its staining and artistic properties are usually overlooked. When done correctly, it can have amazing results.

This dye will work best on natural fibers such as cotton, linen, wool, and on light colored and undyed fabric.
To prepare your fabric for dyeing, boil one cup of salt and 4 liters of water in a stainless steel pot.
Simmer your fabric in this solution for one hour prior to dyeing.
After simmering, remove the pot from the heat, run the fabric under cool water and let dry.
With gloves on, chop 2 cups of spinach and put it in a blender using a ratio of two cups of almost boiling water to every two cups of spinach.
Blend this mixture until it becomes a fine slurry.
Strain the mixture through a cheesecloth lined strainer into a pot.
Add 1 tablespoon of table salt to the dye liquid.
With your gloves on, submerge your fabric in the dye and cover the pot.
Let the fabric soak in the dye overnight. Spinach dye can produce a range of greens depending on the soaking time, from a bright green to a light mint tone. Soak your fabric longer for a more vibrant tone.
Remove fabric from the dye and rinse under cool water, then hang to dry.
Hand-wash or wash alone in cold water to preserve the color.

Instructions: