Natural Dyes - SO WHAT MAKES THE COLOURS?
on August 15, 2026

Natural Dyes - SO WHAT MAKES THE COLOURS?

SO WHAT MAKES THE COLOURS?

A little look at the natural ingredients behind traditional Indian block printing.

OUR FABRIC STARTS LIKE THIS...

Plain, undyed organic cotton in its natural state.

From here, colour, pattern and character are slowly added by hand using traditional block printing techniques.

A blank canvas before the magic begins.
WHAT MAKES THE COLOURS?
A little look at the natural ingredients behind traditional Indian block printing.
BLUE
Made with indigo.
The leaves of the indigo plant are fermented to create that deep, beautiful blue.
BLACK
Traditionally made using iron + jaggery.
The mixture is fermented, creating the rich black you see in so many Bagru prints

RED, RUST + TERRACOTTA
Often created with madder root / manjistha.
Different mordants and strengths can take the colour from soft red through to deep earthy rust.

GREEN
Traditionally, green is often made by layering colours rather than using one green dye. Think indigo blue combined with a natural yellow.

BROWN + TAN
Often made using catechu, which comes from acacia wood.
Iron and plant tannins can also create deeper earthy browns.

PINK, ORANGE + PURPLE
These can be created by changing the concentration of dyes, layering colours and using different mordants.
Madder can give soft pinks and oranges, while indigo layered with red can create purples.

AND WHAT ABOUT WHITE?
Often, it isn’t a dye at all.
The natural cotton is protected with a resist, traditionally mud, so the original fabric colour remains when the rest is dyed.

THE CLEVER BIT...
Ingredients like harda / myrobalan don’t just add colour. They’re rich in tannins and help other dyes bond to the cotton.
It’s part chemistry, part craft, and centuries of knowledge passed down through generations.