natural dyeing - greater celandine

     greater celandine (Chelidonium majus) - is a weed i found in various places around my back alley.  i was not sure what it was but was intrigued by it's pretty yellow flowers!  (and also those weird little bean like appendages)

     i did a little looking up online and found out what it was, apparently it's toxic!  but you can also buy it all over in tablet form for various health reasons???  i also read that if you break the stems it seeps out a bright orange goop!  this i wanted to check out!  (i just took pictures before, did not pick)

    neat!
    ... it's also a dye plant.  i did not get great results from my experiments though.  it did dye a light yellow.  i probably did not use enough plant material, sometimes you need a lot and i did a ratio of 1:1 weight of plant to fiber for the test.
     here is what i got, from left to right is #1. no heat, #2. with heat, steeping with plant, #3. simmering.

     once again i think my best result was with #2, the steeping.  perhaps my simmering is too hot and i am more boiling, i sometimes dont pay a lot of attention and go do other things while all this is happening (so much to do!).  these results do actually have a very light yellow to them.  ..i think you need more plant material than 1:1 for this stuff!  it did however stain my hands quite well!