PUBLISHING

Dyeing with Fungi

An excerpt from Mushrooms of British Columbia, forthcoming from Royal BC Museum Books

By Andy MacKinnon and Kem Luther

NEW FROM THE ROYAL BC MUSEUM

$34.95 Mushrooms of British Columbia is available now at rbcm.ca/mushrooms

or the Royal Museum Shop or your favourite local bookstore

Alissa Allen (mycopigments.com), displaying wool dyed with mushrooms and lichens. Photograph courtesy of Megan Hodde. P rior to the discovery of synthetic (petrochemical) dyes in the mid-19th century, all dyes were natural dyes derived from plants, fungi, lichens, invertebrates and minerals. The synthetic dyes largely displaced natural dyes because they were easier to brew up in the large amounts needed by the fabric industry. Additionally, the new dyes proved to be more effective than natural dyes in colouring fabrics woven from synthetic fibres (also concocted from petrochemical sources).

With the decline in the use of natural dyes, there was a corresponding loss of knowledge about which species were good sources for dyes. In recent decades, however, there has been a resurgence of interest, both artisanal and industrial, in the use of mushrooms and other natural sources as dyestuffs. The movement reflects both a longing to reconnect with the natural world and a desire to reduce the use of, and contact with, petrochemicals.

A rainbow of colours are available from BC’s mushroom species. Reds and oranges are often derived from species in the Dermocybe part of Cortinarius and the dead man’s foot. Purples come from some ramarias.

Several important BC edibles also yield dye colours. The king bolete and lobster crust produce various yellows and may leave mushroom foragers wondering whether to toss them in the dyeing pot or the cooking pot.

While most mushroom dyes can be effectively processed in boiling water, pigments from some species are better extracted by other solvents, such as vinegar or ammonia (traditionally sourced from aged urine in a pee pot on the back porch, for those who want the full artisanal effect!). The extraction process affects the colour obtained from mushroom dyes, as does the choice of mordants, the mineral salts that are sometimes used to fix colours to the fabrics. The dyer’s conk, a favourite choice of BC mushroom dyers, yields hues ranging from green to gold to yellow and sometimes orange and brown, depending on the pH modifier, mordant selection and processing procedures. Fabrics dyed with strawberries and cream, another common BC mushroom, produce elusive greens and greys.

As with mushroom identification, the best way to learn how to dye with mushrooms is to meet up with like-minded folks who have been using natural dyes for a while. A good place to locate such people might be your local mycological or natural history society. Those wishing to consult written references usually find their way to Arleen and Alan Bessette’s The Rainbow Beneath My Feet (Syracuse University Press, 2001). A number of websites also have pictures, videos, and instructions that can help beginners get started. Alissa Allen’s mycopigments.com and the Facebook group Mushroom and Lichen Dyers United are two good places to start.