Can You Dye Yarn With Blueberries?

Written by Kate Curry

With the end of July comes the start of New York’s bustling blueberry seasons. Families are rushing out to their gardens and local orchards to spend some time together to pick those delicious little blueberries to be made into nutritious breakfasts, cakes, jams, muffins, and….yarn dye?

Materials

Natural yarn (I’m using our Lace Weight Silk Yarn in White)
2 cups frozen or fresh organic blueberries
8 cups of water
A knife
A large bowl
Tongs
Measuring spoon - tablespoon
Warm water
Salt

In a kitchen, on the warm wooden table sits a shiny pot, a skein of white yarn, a box of salt, and a bag of frozen blueberries

Let’s Get Started!

Step 1: Unwind your yarn into a loose hank. Soak your yarn in the warm water mixed with a tablespoon of salt in a large bowl.

On a table, in a silver metal foil square tin, is a loose skein of white lace weight silk yarn soaking in salt water.

Step 2: Chop up your blueberries and put them in your pot with the 8 cups of water and set to a simmer.

A close up GIF of the silver pot of water. The blueberries are dropping into the water, turning the water slightly purple.

Let the mixture simmer anywhere from 1-3 hours. The longer you simmer, the deeper the dye will be.

The pot filled with blueberries is simmering away on the stove. Closer to the camera is a large tablespoon filled with the dye, which is a deep violet.

Step 3: Remove the blueberries from your pot! If you don't (like I did) you will have little chunks of blueberry bits in your yarn. Using the tongs, place your hank into the pot of blueberry mixture, making sure the yarn is submerged. You can leave your yarn soaking for anywhere between 2 hours or overnight.

A pot of purple water, white yarn, and blueberries, are simmering away on the stovetop, dyeing the yarn naturally.

Step 4: Rinse your yarn under warm water until the water runs clear. Let it dry out in the warm summer sun!

A hand holding out an unwound skein of dyed yarn. The white yarn is now a few shades of greyish purple.

A purple-ish gray skein of yarn is resting in the grass in the sunlight, showing off the different shades of purple and soft lavender.

Meet the Author

Kate has been on the Darn Good Yarn team since 2018.

They have their degree in Creative Art Therapy & Psychology - and like crafting and animals a little too much.