Scandinavian Dyes & Colors
SHERYL WOODS·WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2015·
by Stacy K Davis 
We have a little bit of information on what dyes were used in which geographical areas - of course, these are from grave finds, so might all be from wealthy individuals. In Norway & Denmark, there were a lot of blues and greens (woad, and weld or other yellows over-dyed with woad.) In the Viking-settled areas of the British Isles, there was a lot of red and purple (from madder, and from lichens or madder over-dyed with woad.)

From a dyeing standpoint, woad is a little more difficult to use than other dyes, because it requires a fermentation vat which is maintained basically forever. There is a way to dye with fresh woad, though it doesn't yield such dark blues. Darker blues are made from repeatedly dipping the fiberfabric in the woad vat. So, blue is a more expensive dye, although it seems to be used quite a lot, on the basis of the grave finds.

It seems that there was a good bit of trade in dyeing materials, as madder doesn't grow everywhere, and woad doesn't grow everywhere, but those dyes were found in places where it does not grow. 

Yellow dyes come from a wide variety of plant sources. So, yellow is the most common (easiest) color to use. That tells me that it is a lower-class color.

Red comes from madder primarily. The temperature of the dyepot, growing conditions, and many other things will greatly affect the shades that you get from madder. It can range from an orangey-red, to shades of coral, salmon, brick, etc, to almost brown. Madder dye comes from a root, which must be harvested after the second year of growth. In later periods, it was frequently enhanced by the use of Meditteranean kermes and cochineal. In earlier periods, there was some kermes available, but it was extremely rare, and therefore expensive. The polish cochineal came from eastern Europe, and would have been used to make a more clear, bright red. Only wealthy people would have access to such a color, but other shades of red are more accessible.

While yellow is easy to get, green and orange are going to be more difficult. These colors are made using a two-step process, so it takes more time and equipment. However, I do understand from some Scandinavian people on facebook that there are currently some plants which yield a green-ish color on their own. Combined with a copper mordant, they could be available to more than just the wealthy. So, I'd say that this is a middle-class color, while darker greens will be an upper-middle-class color. 

Purple is the most precious color, and always was so when natural dyes were the only thing available. In Ireland, there is some use of the sea-snail dye, murex. This is the most expensive dye in the history of the world, and was only available to royalty. 

There was quite a bit of lichen dyeing in the British Isles (mostly Ireland.) They can produce purples, lavenders, pinks, and red shades. These dyes are not easy to produce, and frequently require fermentation for months before using. Also, these dyes are fairly fugitive - they fade quickly in water and sun. We have evidence that they were re-dyed on an annual basis. So, they are available only to the most wealthy. 

You can achieve shades of purple by over-dyeing madder with woad, however. Again, this is going to be a time-consuming, resource-heavy, two-step process. So, purple is more rare and expensive than green or orange, and is really only an upper-class color. 

For the most part, it seems that alum was used as a mordant. It is found locally in club moss, and was imported as a powder, as well. Other mordants used were iron (from the iron pots) and copper. Ammonia (urine) was used to ferment woad, and could also be used to shift the color (especially with lichens) after dyeing. Vinegar can also be used to affect the color of many natural dyes. Tannins are available in walnut hulls and oak galls. They are used as a mordant, and for dyeing browns.

In summary
Yellow is cheap and easy, and available to anyone who is going to dye their fibers.
Red is fairly easy and inexpensive, unless you want a clear, bright red, in which case it is very expensive.
Orange is inexpensive, and can be achieved without too much work.
Blue is easier in a light shade than a dark shade, but is getting expensive either way.
Green can be achieved with some ease, if you want a light shade. A darker shade is more difficult and expensive.
Purple shades are extremely difficult and insanely expensive.

Linen is extremely difficult to dye with natural dyes. We have a VERY few examples of some woad-dyed and some madder-dyed threads in white linen fabric.
Wool takes natural dyes very well and easily. There are also a wide range of black, grey, brown, tan, etc colors of wool that occur naturally (without dyeing.) These would be available to most of the population.
August 12 at 1239pm