Dyeing with amaranth

Amaranth is a good news/bad news kind of dye plant. It's easy to grow, but it will reseed itself rampantly. It can dye beautifully, but the color is reputed to be fugitvie. I tried dyeing with it once before, but I could not help giving it another go.

Inspired by this blog post, I used the cold water method again but this time used just the seed heads, leaves, and twigs (no stalkes), soaked in three gallons of undiluted household vinegar. That was on a Sunday.

I let that steep until the following Tuesday, when I strained the liquor and added unmordanted yarn (one skein of Cascade 220). That soaked for two days, I believe. When I rinsed it, not much color bled out.

Another unmordanted skein of Cascade 220 went into the "exhaust" for two days. Not much difference in color.

Then I dyed a skein of Cascade 220 mordanted with rhubarb leaf and a mini-skein of Cascade 220 mordanted with alum in the second exhaust bath. The rhubarb leaf mordanted skein looks a bit dull compared to the others...

... while the alum mordanted one appears brighter.

These colors are all simply luscious! Worried that they might fade, I am storing them in black cloth bags that I keep inside an opaque plastic bin. I have yet to set up a test for colorfastness.

The instructions for a warm water method using alum may be found at this site. If the amaranth reappears this summer, I may give it a try as well.