Specialising in natural plant dyeing, Kerry Moyle creates elegant and ethereal colours, as Helen Spedding discovers
GINGER PINK YARNS is the artisan yarn brand run by Kerry Moyle. From her studio in Somerset, she produces a range of sophisticated colourways using plants which she grows in her garden or forages in the local countryside. We chatted with Kerry about how she works with plant dyes to create her unique shades.
When did you first try yarn dyeing? “I first started dyeing yarn a few years ago after attending a workshop with The Wool Kitchen in London. I loved it, but was anxious about bringing the dyes into the house with my son, who was a very inquisitive toddler at the time.
“As a family we enjoy foraging, so I decided to explore the potential for using natural plant dyes, with Jenny Dean’s book Wild Colour as my guide. Dandelions and nettles were among the first plants I tried, and I was instantly hooked.”
Have you always focused on using plant dyes, and where do you source your dyestuffs from? “I’ve always used plants to produce my dyes and forage or grow as many of my own as possible. The fibre has to be mordanted first which enables the dye to adhere to the fibre and become wash-fast - it adds another stage to the dyeing process, but it is well worth the work to see the beautiful results. In my garden I currently grow my own woad, goldenrod, coreopsis and marigold. I now have some madder growing, but that takes a good few years before the roots are ready to dye with.”
What fibres do you like to work with? “I love John Arbon’s yarns, in particular the Harvest Hues range and Exmoor Sock. This wool is blended with Zwartbles to produce a natural grey which is so much fun to over-dye, allowing me to create a whole new palette of colours.” Do you have a favourite colourway from your current range? “At the moment I’m enjoying working with bright yellow from foraged weld, and pinks from madder roots, dyed on a Bluefaced Leicester-Gotland wool blend.
“These colours are available in my new ‘Pressed Flowers’ yarn kits - I love this shawl knitting pattern by Amy Christoffers, and I think it perfectly showcases my yarn. On the grey base, t
