Going wild with tartan design -- native natural dyes in New England?

**Tim Little** · 21st July 09, 07:23 AM

Recently I've been thinking a bit about the origins of tartan and how -- not surprisingly -- regional/clan tartans were differentiated not only by pattern, but also by the natural dyes that were available in a given location.

That prompted me to wonder a bit about district tartans here in the US. It seems to me as though colors are chosen for their symbolism -- such as in the Bay State tartan shown below -- rather than for their natural connection to the land.

Massachusetts: The Bay State Tartan
Official District Tartan of Massachusetts

Designed by John Austin ~ Bolton, Massachusetts

Approved by The Massachusetts House of Representatives on May 1, 2003
Approved by the Massachusetts State Senate on May 8, 2003
Approved by Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney on May 16, 2003

Description

Blues: The Atlantic Ocean and all the Reservoirs, Rivers, and Ponds
Green: The Boston Hills, Worcester Hills, and the Berkshire Mountains
Tans: The long beach line, from the North Shore to the South Shore; Cape Cod, the Islands, and Buzzards Bay
Red: The apple and cranberry harvests

This subsequently got me to wondering what plants (or other sources of pigment) might be suitable if one wanted to design a district tartan -- for example, a new Massachusetts tartan -- using natural dyes that are native to the region. (I'd imagine you could get a very nice red from cranberries!)

I don't know anything about plants, dyeing, textiles, or local Native American culture (which would presumably be a good source of information), but figure X Marks is a such a great knowledge base, somone here must have some suggestions: What plants are indigenous to the region that might be suitable for dyeing wool for tartan? What sort of color palette would you wind up with?

**Kilted in Maine** · 21st July 09, 07:45 AM

Maybe a walk through a local farmer's market could give you some inspiration.

A couple from New England that come to mind are blueberries and pumpkins

**macwilkin** · 21st July 09, 08:15 AM

This subsequently got me to wondering what plants (or other sources of pigment) might be suitable if one wanted to design a district tartan -- for example, a new Massachusetts tartan -- using natural dyes that are native to the region. (I'd imagine you could get a very nice red from cranberries!)

An excellent question and discussion starter, Tim!

One of the ideas I had for a tartan for the Ozarks was using natural colors from various plants associated with the region, such as the Osage Orange tree, Pokeberries and Black Walnuts or "Butternut", all of which were well-known to the early Ulster-Scots settlers of the Ozarks.

Regards,

Todd

**Tim Little** · 21st July 09, 08:18 AM

Originally Posted by cajunscot

One of the ideas I had for a tartan for the Ozarks was using natural colors from various plants associated with the region, such as the Osage Orange tree, Pokeberries and Black Walnuts or "Butternut", all of which were well-known to the early Ulster-Scots settlers of the Ozarks.

Sounds great, Todd; how far have you gotten with this?

**macwilkin** · 21st July 09, 08:57 AM

Originally Posted by Tim Little

Sounds great, Todd; how far have you gotten with this?

Not very, I'm sad to say. I've been working on a tartan for Missouri with some folks in the Warrensburg area, but I haven't heard from them for a while.

Todd

**Tim Little** · 21st July 09, 10:45 AM

Found this University of Michigan site, although it's obviously only a starting point.

**Tim Little** · 21st July 09, 12:23 PM

An excerpt of an excerpt:

Because of the high cost of commercial dyestuffs, and because many rural early Americans did not have immediate access to trading centers, some settlers planted the seeds of familiar dyestuffs in their gardens to ensure the availability of coloring materials. Woad (Isatis tinctoria) for blue was a popular garden dye plant, although it exhausted the soil and thereby necessitated the constant opening of new tracts of land (Stearns 1964).

European settlers also experimented with the unfamiliar native plants that they discovered within their new environment. They encountered local species related to their European dye plants, such as a North American sumac (Rhus species) similar to the "diar's shumach" of England. They also encountered completely new dye sources. While some individuals shared the results of these discoveries with neighbors, others did not. Reportedly, one colonial housewife in New England formulated a process for obtaining a rare pink color but refused to divulge the source of this dye and took the secret to her grave. That particular hue became known as Wyndym pink, named after the town in which she lived (Harbeson 1938).

European settlers also learned about American dye plants from resident Native Americans, who produced red from bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis), green from algae, and yellow from lichens. The poisonous fruit of pokeweed (Phytolacca americana), an indigenous North American herb, was favored by Native Americans as a colorant for baskets (Weigle 1974). The American colonists observed, however, that many of the hues produced by Native Americans quickly faded, suggesting that mordants may not have been used.

The book Dyes from American Native Plants looks to be a good source, though I'm still interested if anyone here has any practical knowledge/regional specificity.

**tulloch** · 21st July 09, 12:46 PM

I'd go right to Old Sturbridge Village and ask them. They dye a lot in the summer there using natural dyes and I think the colors I have seen there could get a nice range of tartan colors. By the way; a nice saffron color can be gotten from onion skins from what I remember. I have not checked their website - just recollecting many, many times at the Village in the past 45 years. Would be fun to follow this and see what we can find.

**Tim Little** · 21st July 09, 01:10 PM

Originally Posted by tulloch

I'd go right to Old Sturbridge Village and ask them. They dye a lot in the summer there using natural dyes and I think the colors I have seen there could get a nice range of tartan colors. By the way; a nice saffron color can be gotten from onion skins from what I remember. I have not checked their website - just recollecting many, many times at the Village in the past 45 years. Would be fun to follow this and see what we can find.

Doh! I suppose I should have thought of OSV. Plimoth Plantation would probably be a good resource, too -- particuarly for the Native American perspective.