Woad Dyeing Posted on October 8, 2018 by Helen Bookbinder 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.