From Bark to Dye—Ethnographic Black and Grey Alder Recipes from Finland and Estonia

Ethnographic sources from Finland and Estonia in the 18th to early 20th centuries often mention alder bark as a dye source. The bark of grey alder (Alnus incana) and black alder (Alnus glutinosa) was used to dye wool and linen yarns reddish, paint leather red, and darken linen fishing nets. These recipes were simple folk craft and are not represented in dye books. Combining various sources, a selection of ethnographic and historical recipes was reconstructed through dyeing experiments to deepen the knowledge of alder bark dyeing practices and to recreate a colour palette based on past recipes. To understand the properties of the alder bark dye, the dyed textile samples were tested according to the ISO standards for washing, rubbing, and light fastness, and colour was recorded with the CIELab values. Our results show that it was possible to obtain different shades of brown, reddish brown, and dark brown. The colour fastness of dyed wool samples was moderate or good. Slight colour changes in the washed samples compared to the untreated ones were observed, which can be due to the standard’s heavily alkaline detergent.