lichen dyeing

Spinning up the lichen dyed fleece was on my list of projects to finish. Fleece that has been hanging around for years is not the greatest spinning experience. It was dry and rough. Still, the fragrance of the fleece, from Evernia prunastri, will end up in the finished product and does not fade, made it worth while. The delicate smell, used in Europe for perfume, transports me to some other place. The cone on the left is the second dye bath of Evernia prunastri. The color from the first dye bath was more intense. On cone on the right the golden is from Parmelia.

Lichens are the coolest organisms. They are dual organisms (mutual symbiosis) made up of both fungi and algae. There are thousands of varieties and they can last thousands of years. There are tree lichens, rock lichens, marine lichens…from all shades of green, yellow, orange, rust, deep red, blue, purple, or pale nearly white as well as black. I am sure there are more. These are the colors I have seen.

Do I sound enamored? I am – these are magical treats. Judith MacKenzie McCuin introduced them to me. She has a book coming out soon entitled, Teach Yourself Visually Handspinning. This is available for preorder at a great price. http://www.amazon.com/ Judith teaches workshops on dyeing, spinning, and weaving. She is a wonderful, knowledgeable, generous teacher, with an engaging personality. If you ever get a chance to take a class with her, jump at the chance. You won’t be sorry.

Humans can interrupt the lichen growth cycle mightily. I was taught to respect these growing treasures, and not to collect from rocks or trees, but to collect from the ground after rain or wind storms. This means you do not use your knife to scrap that bright red lichen off the rocks. These treasures are slow growing. It can take 10-100 years to replenish. And so we gather with great care.

They say some 400 products are made from lichen, including anti-viral medications. It is best known as a wool dye in Europe, but has been used all as a dye all over the world. Lichens are said to be indications of clean air. Some are questioning the effect global warming will have on this organism.

I dyed lots of yarn right away with the downed lichen, gathered after a storm from nearby mountains, and put the extras in paper bags in the closet. I worried about rotting or bugs, for the first year or two, but this is not a problem. Apparently this is not a tasty treat to the insect and animal world. This is Parmelia in dry form. Lichens contain unique lichen acids that are produced by no other plant. They are related to tannins. This is not lichen tea. I wanted you to see the color, so I put some hard, crusty, dried up old lichen in a cup of water and microwaved it for a minute. It grows soft and supple in water. This is Parmelia lichen, perhaps Parmelia sulcata. I sniffed the brew. Wonderful woodsy smells. I was tempted to taste – to transport myself into a forest sprite. Dangerous business, so I thought better of it. One of the Parmelia varieties is used for Harris tweeds in the Outer Hebrides.



There are many books on the subject. The most useful are specific to the geographical area of interest. I use Macrolichens of the Pacific Northwest by Bruce McCune and Linda Geiser, and Lichens of California by Mason E. Hale, Jr. and Mariette Cole. Web resources are abundant. For textile related information see http://www.snh.org.uk/publications/on-line/NaturallyScottish/lichens/dyeing.asp

For great photos, see http://waynesword.palomar.edu/pljan98c.htm