09/11/2025
Butterfly pea flower❣️
Dyeing textiles with butterfly pea flower is an ancient practice that's gaining renewed interest as an eco-friendly alternative to synthetic dyes. The process involves extracting the vibrant blue anthocyanins from the dried flowers through various methods, with the most common being steeping them in hot or boiling water. To create the dye bath, you bring a large pot of water to a boil, add dried butterfly pea flowers, reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes until the water turns a deep blue color, then strain out the flowers and let the liquid cool. For stronger concentrations, some dyers use microwave-assisted extraction techniques, which can extract colorants in as little as 10 seconds to 2 minutes.
The actual dyeing process requires careful attention to mordanting, which helps the dye bond permanently with the fabric fibers. Professional textile dyeing with butterfly pea involves stages of pre-mordanting and dyeing, simultaneous mordanting and dyeing, then post-mordanting and dyeing, which allows color particles to unite well and results in various color shades. Recent research has focused on optimizing dye extraction temperature and dyeing parameters for cotton fabrics to evaluate butterfly pea's potential as a natural textile dye. While the natural blue is beautiful, it's important to note that natural dyes generally produce lighter, more muted colors compared to synthetics, and the color may fade over time without proper mordanting. Simple experiments can be done by steeping butterfly pea tea and letting fabric soak overnight in the dark blue liquid, though professional results require more complex mordanting processes to achieve colorfastness.
Photo credit: peaflowerindonesia.com