Aquablue
Low Impact Dye
Black
Low Impact Dye
True Black
Celery
Clay Dye
Light/Medium green with slight yellow undertones
Citrine
Clay Dye
A soft, buttery yellow
Grape
Low Impact Dye
Bright purple
Henna
Clay Dye
The deep color of sun dried clay
Jade
Clay Dye
Pale emerald
Malachite
Clay Dye
Medium green with blue undertones
Mosaic Blue
Low Impact Dye
Bright medium blue with darker undertones
Moss
Clay Dye
A light creamy cucumber green
Mud
Clay Dye
A rich coffee color
Natural
No Dye
Off white
Olive
Clay Dye
Orchid
Low Impact Dye
Patina
Clay Dye
Medium green with light brown undertones
Port
Clay Dye
Deep brown with burgundy undertones
Pumpkin
Clay Dye
Medium red with orange and brown undertones
Raspberry
Low Impact Dye
Slate
Clay Dye
Medium Grey
Sunstone
Clay Dye
Peach/coral with pink undertones
Tea
Clay Dye
Light brown with yellow undertones
Teal
Low Impact Dye
Terra
Clay Dye
A burnt orange clay pot color
Topaz
Clay Dye
Soft medium brown
Turquoise
Low Impact Dye
Bright medium blue
Violet
Low Impact Dye
Bright purple with darker undertones
White
No Dye
True Bright White
Clay-dyed colors
As long as humans have been making textiles, they have been using mud, clay, and dirt to dye their creations. There are places in the world where cloth is still dyed using these traditional techniques. When we developed our own dyeing process, we learned from these ancient methods but took the process a step further to ensure colorfastness, durability, and applicability to knitted fabrics.
We use clays from different sources, but most come from the Southeastern United States (Alabama, Georgia, and the Carolinas). Because we want to produce a uniform color from batch to batch, we look for sources that will yield consistent color.
Not only does clay dyeing result in beautiful colors, but the process itself is eco-friendly. Clay dyeing avoids the use of synthetic dyes, thus eliminating the negative environmental impact of chemically manufacturing it. The dye process we developed uses only natural and biodegradable materials to improve the clay’s natural dyeing abilities. We do not use any salt; salt is routinely used in many “normal” dye processes, and releasing it results in high salinity that is harmful to our waterways.
We love how the idea of clay dye entices people. We began our company with only two or three colors. Over time, people began asking for more colors, and they began sending us clay samples. We have received clay from locations as varied as a car salesperson’s yard and a potter in Alabama who still uses a horse-and-pulley system to extract clay for his pottery. We also have created custom projects using a customer’s own soil and by adding brewed coffee to our clay dyes for a coffee roaster.
We achieve many of our shades by mixing and blending different clays together. Of course, there is a finite number of pigments available in nature, so we are limited in the colors that we can produce. But we are always looking for new and interesting sources.
