The woad leaves are torn up and boiling water is poured over them. This stew is left for an hour to get the colour out of the leaves.
The sherry colour liquid is processed by first adding some washing soda to make it ph9-10 and then oxygen is both added and removed.
Silk and wool fibres tend to take up more colour than cotton and linen.
These berries house the madder seeds and are ready for saving when the fruits start to shrivel up like these ones.
Coreopsis seed is allowed to dry and mature on the plant. Each of the little dried flower heads hold lots of tiny seeds which just fall out when you squish them so have a paper bag underneath to catch them.
In a few days we will be harvesting this woad and making a vat with it. I will post the results here next week.