Traditional Plant Based Textile Dyeing in Thailand

I am totally obsessed with natural plant-based dyeing. Thus I was very excited to visit a local dyeing factory in Phang-Nga, South Thailand – thanks to the Official Thailand Tourism and Green Pearls. This small factory is run by 4 people and is open to the public. They sell their hand-dyed cotton scarfs directly at their factory or at markets for 38 Thai Baht / 5€ each. Each scarf is unique as the patterns are individually hand-crafted. Here is a tutorial which shows how the Thai factory workers hand-dye these beautiful scarfs with only a few tools and you can do it at home, too.

Step 1:

Open the plant.

Step 2:

Add the plant powder to a large pot of water.

Step 3:

Bring the Mixture to the boil.

Step 3:

Get your cotton prepared. Cover the spots that should stay white with wooden sticks or ribbons. Carefully place the fabric in the boiling water.

Step 5:

Stir the cotton fabric with a large wooden stick and make sure that it is fully soaked.

Step 6:

Take the fabric out of the boiling water and put it in an empty pot. Let it chill and cool for a few minutes while you continue with Step 7.

Step 7:

Prepare a new big pot with cold water and add some salt. The salt helps the color to stick to the cotton fabric.

Step 8:

Now, dip the fabric into the salty water and let the fabric absorb the water.

Step 8:

Remove the wooden rods from the fabric.

Step 9:

Wring out the fabric.

Step 10:

Hang the cloth on a leash and let it air dry.

I love the beautiful unique patterns and the soft colors. I bought 4 different scarfs because I could not decide for only one 😉 and of course wanted to support their business a little bit. The light cotton cloth was the perfect cover and sun protection during a boat trip on the Andaman see.

Cooperation: This inspiring press trip to Thailand was realized by the Official Thailand Tourism in Germany. Thank you so much for the invitation.

Photos: Mochni

Do you want to try your own natural dyes at home? We created different dyeing tutorials with some tips and tricks.