For my second experiment with natural dyes, I used coffee.  I just saved the grounds from my husband’s french press for a few week (plus I added in a few whole bean just for good measure.)

My son enjoyed helping me mix up the big pot.

I strained out most of the coffee grounds before adding the yarn, otherwise I would have never been able to get that mess out.

This time I added the alum/cream of tartar mordant to the pre-soak of the yarn.  I used the same yarns as my last experiment: romney hand-spun, angora hand-spun, and Valley Yarns Northampton in natural colorway.  The idea was to dye my husbands aran sweater that I made out of Northampton in the coffee natural dye if he liked the sample, but he decided he wanted it to stay natural colored.

I let the yarns soak overnight to get a rich brown color.  It’s crazy how the different fibers took the colors differently!