Hopi Dye Sunflower Seed Dye (Purple, Pink, and Grey)

Hopi dye seed sunflower dye is very sensitive to changes in pH and metal mordants. 
I prefer pink or purple to grey, but a large range of colors can be made. 
Alum works as a good premordant for all colors, and I generally use about an equivalent amount of seeds to the amount of fabric that I am dyeing, with water to cover.

My first time dyeing, I used 4 cups of seeds, with enough water that they had an extra inch or so to move around in. I boiled it for about an hour on the fire, and then added the fabric, and let it boil for a little longer until it looked sufficiently colored. This resulted in a strong purple that got a bit greyer with time. 

My favorite color, a pink, I got by using about 1 cup of seeds, covered with water that had been boiling in a copper teapot, with about ¼ tsp of citric acid. I probably heated it for about 30 minutes, added the fabric, and let it sit for another 30 minutes. 

A less grey purple can be gotten by following a similar process to the first recipe, except citric acid or vinegar is added until the dyebath is a deep reddish purple color, before the fabric is added. 

Grey can be gotten with higher pHs or by adding iron, neither of which I have done on purpose, but I know it is possible, as greys are generally easier than brighter colors. 

It is very important to use a pH neutral soap with this dye, as a lot of soaps are high pH and makes the fabric go greyer. It is also very hard to overdye with indigo or any other high pH dye, for this reason. 


This is the dye I used for the cactus pads on my cactus quilt.