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No, there was the one breeder of Shelties, but I mainly saw Rough Collies on the crofts and farms and a couple of mixed border collies (all working dogs). No Scotties, no hounds… not much else really.

Good question. The guideline would be as little water as possible such that your fiber can still sufficiently able to move around to allow for consistent ability to uptake dye throughout. But the mushroom and fiber is measured by weight and water is done by volume so I don’t have an easy answer that way. If you are filling a pot with fiber, it usually ends up about 1/2 to 2/3 full including the mushrooms and presoaked fiber. If you wanted to figure out a ratio with weight of water that would be super interesting to see, though again with heat and evaporation it might get interesting. 🤔

Could not agree more! It’s a treasure. I just wish I could have brought some of the miniature ponies home. 🐎 🏡

Dang - there are just so many crappy, unstable greens out there. I would try to go with an iron mordant or modifier (using iron after the dye process) with golden onions. You may get an online green. It’s hard to say for sure when it comes to plant fibers because so much of my experience and experiments are with animal fibers. If you are on Facebook, you could try to do a search for “green cotton” on a group like Natural Dyeing. I don’t want to lead you astray by giving advice that it turns out is only relevant to animal fibers.

Thank you!

I’m considering going back for 2026. It’s pure magic!

Any time! What kind of weaving do you do?

@WildcraftDyeing I'm still somewhat a beginner, taking classes for about 6 years. Table runners, dish towels, and experiments.

@marinamartinez6886 that’s awesome! 😎

Fair point - my apologies. Yes you do and they are very nice lochs.

Do you happen to know the Gaelic word for lichens? I tried to look it up.

@@WildcraftDyeing it might be “crotal”

Ahh ok, that makes sense. I dug into it a little and came across this “• a Gaelic name, once regularly used by the Highlanders and Islanders, but now forgotten and only found in dictionaries. They used crottle as a general term for lichens” from www.scotlandguides.org/lichens-in-scotland.html#google_vignette . I will endeavour to use crottle again. I’d like to learn more Gaelic.

I had not seen a warp-weighted tablet weaving loom before (full sized fabric ones aside). Amazing to see and a little funny to be teaching on them on the fly.

Agreed! I want to go back again.

@ me too. I went last year-2023. Magical.

Funny coincidence- I just spent today dyeing with Boletopsis (wild!). So if you have any questions at all just let me know! These were dried and the colours are so dark and rich. I would say try 1:2 ratio for dried (so one Oz of dried B for every two Oz of fiber). I went higher today and the colours are crazy dark.

Ooooo!!! That ratio is much better!! I just checked my inat and I think I found Boletopsis leucomelaena, but I’m not certain. Alissa said these were great dyes with LOTS of dye in them! I’m guessing the process for my type is the same as yours? I also found some stereo tooth mushrooms (Hydnellum stereosarcinon) and possibly Phellodon melaleucus or Phellodon atratus. Do you have any videos on those mushrooms? Once again Zoe, I just love watching your content. I feel like you’re my virtual fiber friend from across the Strait. If you’re ever in Port Townsend, I’d love to get together with you!

@marninegley awesome for sure! Alissa’s advice is the gold standard so definitely follow her advice. If you can keep the bath at about a pH of 10 (9 at the lowest), you should be good. Everyone talks about it being a sea foam green but I see a lot more of the grey spectrum with some green. I don’t have a video yet on the Hydnellums but I do have a serious stash now of them this year so should have one by spring. Sorry that’s not much help but if you follow the same process as this video, you’ll be good. It’s the same as the dye chemistry in this group is all very similar. There’s a discussion of it in Miriam Rice’s book. Would love to connect and do some mushroom dyeing! I have fully embraced the derpy vibe of my videos and just make them for other enviro nerds like me! 🤣

@@WildcraftDyeingthank you! ♥️

Sorry - that’s totally fair. I end up feeling quite nervous to record videos in public but really I need to take a breath and record more slowly. I agree - it’s too fast.

@ These things are so difficult to judge. The way our eyes move and perceive things is quite different from how the camera ‘sees’. Plus I’m sure you were excited to see that huge collection of knits, and you just want to see everything.

I was super excited but I can see that it’s too fast. I’m sorry! Now you’ll just need to go there and see for yourself. They also have roadside cake fridges which really deserves their own video.

Me to . I even tried it in lower speed.

You can get them from usually any paint store. Or even something like Amazon.com . Try “paint filter bags 5 gallon size”.

Sweet! Ok so they announce the dates at the very end of Sept each year - pretty much as soon as that happens you want to book. Most folks booked rooms in Lerwick to make it easier to get to most of the classes but the organizers do a decent job of organizing classes around Shetland so in the end I am glad we booked a little cabin about 20 mins outside and had lovely peace and quiet each night. If you get the chance, definitely take any class offered by Elizabeth Jonestone. She’s a wonderful Elder Shetlanders and master spinner, lace and Faire Isle knitter. A real local character. I hope you have better luck getting a sheep or miniature pony home than I did! :)

@@WildcraftDyeing It likely won't be next year, as one of my daughters is planning to get married in early October, but maybe 2026. And I had a Shetland pony when I was a kid, so I can't complain too much. If you want some Shetland sheep, there are quite a few in Manitoba. Some farmers brought in some new genetics from the UK last year, as most of the Shetland sheep in Canada were descended from one herd that was brought to Canada earlier in the 20th century. 😊

@katherinedelorme5009 nice! Every kid wants a Shetland pony growing up! I am also considering heading back for 2026 to teach dyeing with some of their natural dyers (which odd coincidence are invasive out here in BC). I married a flatlander but he’s from Saskatoon. I just have to accept the watermelon Roughrider helmet thing a few times a year.

Wow! Any chance you might be interested in a Canadian dyer and tablet weaver coming to teach? Also for the record I wanted to take all the sheep home and all the miniature ponies… they were all so glorious!!!

Hmm - I’m not sure I understand the concern you mention but I would like to. I agree that Indigenous perspectives and traditional knowledge are important to understanding and helping heal our world. Can you share more? Thank you!

Sure - best to head out before the snow but dyers Polypore is good up until it starts to rot (if you feel crumbly coffee grounds on the underside it’s passed its prime). Also dye mushrooms like Cortinarius smithii are usually out well into November. Alder cones and acorns are best foraged for in winter. Just depends what you have locally. The free INaturalist app is excellent for looking at what plants and mushrooms folks have found around you. Sorry to hear the season is getting to you - let me know if I can help with more information! All the dyes I mentioned here have videos on my channel. :)

Good question! I believe my dehydrator is set to 110F, and I use 10 hours unless it’s quite full, then I go go 12 hours.

No, they can be used fresh for sure. You’ll just need to use more due to the weight of water in fresh mushrooms. More like 10:1 instead of 2:1.

@@WildcraftDyeing Thanks! Hopefully, I can find more this weekend. I have yarn coming. :)

That should do the trick! Just make sure all the botanical stuff is off so it doesn’t gum up your dryer. Let me know how it goes. :)

Awesome - let me know if there’s anything I can do for your short story. :)

By the Hypomyces lactifluorum? Can you give an example? I will dig into it.

Thank you! :)

I can do my best! When dyeing with dried mushroom, you generally want to dye with a 1:1 to 1:2 ratio of mushrooms to fiber. When it’s fresh, this can go up from 5:1 to 10:1. Which mushroom were you thinking of dyeing with? 🤔

My pleasure! :)

I’m so sorry it didn’t work the first time. I hope this video helps. I’ve messed around a little more and it really seems like you can’t make the process much shorter. The overnight soaks are key and no heat for the pinks. Keep me posted! :)

@@WildcraftDyeing You're definitely right and I'm so glad I found your video! :) I tried another batch (pre soaked fibers + berries) and let it all soak without heat. The colour is actually quite nice darker purple, so not bright pink that I was hoping for! Might be because the berries I picked were already wilting a little. I'll wash my fibers tomorrow to see the result and might do another batch if I can still find some fresh looking berries! Looks like it's a lot of trial and error but always exciting to experiment :)

@slavkanovosad yay!!! So glad to hear you are getting in the pinks and purples. So glad to hear you are having fun dyeing. I do too! 💕 🧶 🍄‍🟫

Yay!!! That’s awesome! Forest Science Aunties of the world unite. That is super interesting- it sounds like the colour set because at 210F the purple should have been toast. I’ll noodle on it. 🤔

Or Forest Science Non-gender specific beings of the world unite. Whatever works. :)

I left it to stew in the cooling dye bath and it did turn a darker purpley red after an hour or so. I'll play around with it some more. 😃

My pleasure! Thank you so much. :)

Yay! I hope it’s super fun. I’m here if you have any questions. :)

Hmm, I think it depends on what you mean. At no point would I consider the dye vat to be edible but you can dye with it and use the fiber and the dyed fiber isn’t poisonous. I have a video on the ethics of natural dyeing that goes through dyeing with poisonous materials more. It’s on my channel if you’re interested.

Definitely! For dyers Polypore you can do a 1:2 ratio (so twice the weight of fiber to mushroom). Most other mushrooms are in the 2:1 to 1:1 range but this one packs a punch. Happy dyeing! :)