Natural Purple Dyes

Purple is one of the most loved natural colors. With the dyes in this collection you can make mauve, lilac, plum and aubergine in three simple ways.

Three routes to natural purple

  • Madder + iron: dye pink or red with madder root or madder extract, then dip in a weak iron afterbath (0.5–1% WOF) for plum and aubergine.
  • Madder + alkaline rinse: a rinse with a little soda ash shifts madder pinks toward cool, bluish mauve.
  • Madder + indigo: overdye madder pink in a light indigo vat made with natural indigo and fructose for violet and purple.

Read the step-by-step guide to madder purples and mauves, and use the WOF calculator to scale any recipe.

Explore more: Red & Pink Dyes · Blue Dyes · Black & Grey Dyes

Frequently asked questions

What natural dye makes purple?

Madder with an iron or alkaline modifier gives mauve, plum and aubergine. Madder pink overdyed with indigo gives violet and purple.

How do I make lilac with natural dyes?

Dye a light madder pink (about 2–3% WOF madder extract), then give it a short dip in a light indigo vat.

Is natural purple lightfast?

Madder and indigo are both very lightfast, so purples made from them last well. Iron-shifted shades should be rinsed well.

Guides for this collection

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