Madder (Rubia tinctorum)is a plant that has been harnessed for thousands of years by dyeing communities around the world. A member of the extensive Rubiacae family of plants, which includes the coffee plant, it is native to Central and Southern Europe, North Africa and Central Asia.
Find out about our selection of online frame/ tapestry weaving courses, including a breakdown of all the weaving techniques you'll learn and the support that's available.
There is nothing more rewarding than to head out in search of seasonal, foraged dyestuffs and to watch them transform your fibres into an artist's palette of colours, from subtle to bold and always surprising. My successes this year included dandelion heads in the spring, summer comfrey leaves, autumn black walnut hulls, and wild cherry bark from a fallen tree this winter. But the time-honoured, reliable natural dyes, such as indigo, madder and weld, exploited by ancient and skilled dyeing communities around the world for millennia, are indispensable. Happily, I have much more to discover.
