MATERIALS & DYES

Brown/Black

Tannins found in bark are good sources of brown earth tones. These yarn samples are dyed with a variety of barks and techniques including Western hemlock, Labrador tea, red osier dogwood, red alder, Douglas maple, cottonwood, Sitka mountain ash, crabapple, shore pine, willow, spruce, serviceberry, thimbleberry, swamp gooseberry, stink currant, highbush cranberry, red huckleberry, sweet gale, copperbush, devil’s club, and false huckleberry. Analine dyes became commercially available around 1860, indicating that “traditional” Chilkat dyes likely included synthetics. Several ancestral weavers, including Jennie Thlunaut and Eliza Mork, have also mentioned using boiled Hershey bar wrappers or brown crepe paper to acquire brown dyes, demonstrating ongoing innovation with whatever new materials were available. Learn more about Chilkat Dye Research.