Natural dyes from mushrooms

Mushrooms have a long story of being used for dyeing as different species produce different colours. We produce many mushrooms that can be used for dyeing typically Pleurotus spp. gives grey, yellow and brown dyes.

Last year after harvesting and drying nameko I used the discarded stems to make a dye lot which produced a lovely mustard yellow with hints of burgundy. I also added bicarb of soda to increase the pH and a mordant, iron sulfate, to enhance the colour and binding properties of the dye.

This video shows my dyeing process....