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.

Antonia Leonie Böhlke

Antonia is the founder and editor-in-chief of MOCHNI. Her mission is to share voices (including her own) and transparent information to help people make stronger and more impactful decisions in their lives and make the world a little slower, cleaner and fairer. She is a certified fashion and textile manager and is studying quality journalism in Germany.