Wild Dyeing with Buddleia

Curious about natural dyeing with plants? This simple summer experiment uses buddleia flowers to create a soft yellow dye. My daughter and I had a go at tie-dye using an old t-shirt, soya milk, and flowers from the bush outside our yard. It was fun, eco-friendly, and gave us a colourful new top to show off!

Beautiful dark purple buddleia in full bloom.

Buddleia is bursting into bloom. It's the end of June and around here, some bushes are already heavy with flowers while others are just beginning to bud. The deep purple blossoms with their bright orange centres are gorgeous — I often see those in people’s gardens. Wild buddleia tends to be a paler purple, but just as pretty.

It’s also known as the butterfly bush, although I haven’t spotted many butterflies near it yet this year. (In the UK, it’s a favourite for species like the peacock, small tortoiseshell, and red admiral.)

Last year, I gathered and dried some buddleia flowers, hoping to use them for natural dyeing one day. But this morning, I couldn't resist snipping a few fresh blooms from the bush outside our back yard — there were so many! It felt like the perfect time for a little experiment, especially since my daughter had a couple of old white t-shirts ideal for a bit of summer creativity.

Preparing the fabric

I began by mordanting the fabric — essentially, preparing it to take on the dye. I used a simple solution of soy milk and water (about 1:5 ratio) and soaked the t-shirt in it overnight. I then rinsed it, let it dry on the line, then repeated the process again but this time I just soaked it for an hour. It's not complicated, but it does take a bit of time and patience!

Once the t-shirt was prepped, I showed my daughter some photos from a very old-fashioned craft book and we decided on a classic tie-dye circle design. She pinched small bits of fabric and tied string tightly around each one, aiming for circle patterns where the dye doesn’t reach. She loved this part.

Buddleia flowers in the dye ppot.

Making the dye

While she worked, I prepared the dye. I added five buddleia flowerheads to a pan of water (just enough to cover the t-shirt) and let them simmer for a whwile, then steeped them a while longer. The water gradually turned a rich yellow brown colour. I strained out the flowers, wet the t-shirt under the tap, then added it to the dye pot.

We let it gently simmer and steep on and off for about an hour, occasionally checking in. Finally, we rinsed it under cold water and my daughter carefully cut the string away. It worked! The white circles had appeared just as we hoped. She was delighted — and honestly, I was too.

Once it was dry, I gave it an iron to help seal in the colour. The final shade was a soft yellow — it might have been brighter if we’d used more flowers or let it soak longer, but we were too excited to wait. And part of the fun is seeing the results unfold together in real time.

A fab yellow tie dyed t-shirt

A beautiful t-shirt

It was such a lovely experiment — simple, creative, mindful, and free (apart from a bit of soy milk). We reused an old t-shirt, explored nature’s colours, and spent precious time together. My daughter now has a funky, one-of-a-kind summer top, and we’re both excited to try more!

I’d love to hear from you!
Have you tried natural dyeing or felt inspired to give it a go? I’d love to hear what you’ve been creating! Come and share your experiments, questions, or photos over in my free Facebook group – Kindful & Wild Tribe
It’s a gentle, welcoming space for nature-lovers, foragers and creative souls to slow down, connect, and share ideas around seasonal living, wild food, natural crafts and more.