Dye Project: Chokecherry

I recently tried a solar dyeing project using drupes collected from the chokecherry (Prunus ilicifolia) in the lower yard. The deep purple drupes ripen in the fall, and are eaten by local and migrating birds, such as robins, chickadees, warblers, and a host of little brown birds (LBBs). Over the years, I've witnessed swarms of migrating birds descend on the tree and strip it of its drupes in less than an hour!

Solar dyeing with Chokecherry drupes - day 1

Because these drupes are an important food source for local and visiting wildlife, I only harvested what I needed for the project (660 grams or 23.28 ounces, about 4 cups). I rinsed the drupes in water to remove dust and small insects.

Chokecherry drupes

I used two dish towels (WOF is 154 grams/5.4 ounces) that had been scoured, mordanted with oak gallnut extract, and brightened with alum and soda ash. The WOF% is 428% for the 660 grams of drupes. Dyers typically recommend equal weights of fabric and plant material for solar dyeing (or double the weight for berries), so we're well over that. I added three teaspoons of alum and boiling water to the jar, and then layered drupes and dishtowels and topped off the jar with more boiling water. 

Solar dyeing with chokecherry drupes - day 14

I steeped the dishtowels in the chokecherry dye bath for two weeks, making sure to rock and rotate the jar daily to distribute dye and drupes evenly.

Hang to dry

As with previous solar dyeing projects, I squeezed out excess dye, rinsed the fabric, and then ran it through the washing machine without detergent and hung to dry. After waiting two weeks to help set the dye, I washed the fabric with a mild textile soap (like Synthropol or Professional Textile Detergent) and hung it to to dry. 

The result is a lovely shade of purple. One drawback with using this solar method, is that the fabric ended up with a number of dark spots. Possibly the drupes clung to the fabric during the whole process, rather than moving around with the daily rotation. The spots add interest, but may not be desirable for some dye projects. It will be interesting to see how colorfast the dye is, since berry-based dyes are known to fade quickly with time.