I first discovered natural dyeing in textile art school in 2008, and it has been my passion ever since. Studying and refining this craft is a true labour of love—one that is worth every moment.

My signature line of fingering, sport and worsted weight merino wool yarns begin as 100% organic merino sourced from New Zealand which is spun in Ontario and then dyed with plant dyes here in BC by me (Janna Maria).

At Everlea Yarn, I use only dyes which are proven to have colourfast properties. The two dye processes that I use are, 1) mordanted natural dyeing, and 2) indigo vat dyeing. Indigo vat dyeing is how I achieve my blues as well as some greens, purples, browns and blacks in combination with other dye matter using mordant dyeing methods. Mordant dyeing is how I achieve all other colours as outlined below.

At Everlea my natural dyeing process is 4 weeks long, as I cure the yarn both in the mordant stage and the dyeing stage before it gets its final rinse. My research has found that these time-exhaustive processes are required to deliver you the most colourfast results.

My four-week mordant dyeing process:

• Plant matter is extracted in a 24hour wet extraction process.
• My fibres are mordanted in a 3-day process, including the 2-day curing process.
• Dyeing the mordanted yarn is a process which happens over 24 hours.
• The dyed yarn then cures for up to three weeks before it gets a final rinse.
• Some yarns undergo an additional dye process whereby the indigo dye process is applied before the mordanting occurs, or on-top of the mordant-dyed yarn.
• The yarn is finally skeined and labeled.

I receive my indigo already extracted and in powder-form and then create a dye vat which requires the absence of oxygen, a particular pH (depending on what kind of fibre I'm dyeing) and a warm environment. Once an indigo vat is happy the fibres can be submerged. When the fibres are removed they come out of the vat a yellow-green colour, and with exposure to the oxygen in the air turn blue before my eyes. 

I allow my indigo dyed yarn to off-gas for at least one week before they are available for sale as they can otherwise have a strong scent. The off-gassing scent will eventually totally disappear, so if your yarn has a scent, don't worry - it won't be like that for long.