Phaeolus schweinitzii – Mushroom Dyes
Karhunkaapa (FI)

Phaeolus schweinitzii – Fungi dye produces Yellow and gold colours

Alum Mordant

3 litres water
25 grams alum
10 grams cream of Tartar
Bring to boil and then let cool
100 gram wool yarn tied in skeins
Rinse the clean washed yarn in cool water
Add the yarn into the cool mordant bath and bring it to 80-90 C degrees
Simmer for 1 hour
Remove and let cool

Fungi Dye Bath

If using dried mushrooms soak them in water for a few hours until soft.
300 grams dried mushrooms
5 litres water
Bring to boil and simmer for 2-3 hours

Let dyebath cool
Strain the liquid and store the cooked mushrooms. They can be used again in an afterbath
Add mordanted yarn to strained dyebath liquid

Add mordanted yarn to dyebath
Return to heat and simmer for 1 hour at 80-90 degrees Celsius or longer for stronger colour.
Remove from heat source and let cool
Rinse in water that is of similar temperature as dyebath to avoid shocking the yarn and causing felting to occur.

Mushroom Dyeing
A New England and Eastern Canada Edible and Medicinal Mushroom Resource
Mosswalks Blogspot
Basket dyed with Phaeolus schweinitzii “dyers polypore”
California Fungi: Phaeolus schweinitzii
Root Diseases: Chweinitzii Butt Rot
This fungus is considered to be a tree disease in British Columbia

Mordants

How to Make an Alum Mordant
How to Scour and Mordant Cotton and Linen

More About Fungi Dyes

Fungi Dye: Pisolithus arhizus
Fungi Dye: Boletopsis Grisea
Fungi Dye: Hapolopilus Rutilans
Fungi Dyes Cortinarius Semisanguineus
Fungi Dye: Phaeolus schweinitzii

Natural Dye Books

Wild Color, Revised and Updated Edition: The Complete Guide to Making and Using Natural Dyes
Botanical Colour at your Fingertips
The Modern Natural Dyer: A Comprehensive Guide to Dyeing Silk, Wool, Linen and Cotton at Home
A Weaver’s Garden: Growing Plants for Natural Dyes and Fibers

The Rainbow Beneath My Feet: A Mushroom Dyer’s Field Guide