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.

Founder and Editor-in-Chief of MOCHNI.