Aside from the obviously named Dyer’s Polypore, I didn’t really realize that mushrooms (and lichens!) have been traditionally used to dye fabrics since time immemorial. For example, the Vikings are known to have dyed fabric with partial fungi - lichens! Dyeing fabric with mushrooms has been popularized in recent years by Miriam C. Rice and Dorothy Beebee in the 70’s.

Introduction to Lobster Mushroom Dye

A few weeks ago, I came across a beautiful online resource for visualizing the range of color that mushrooms can provide: The Mushroom Color Atlas. As I was browsing through the color samples, I fell in love with the range of pinks, corals, and peachy-orange that could be yielded from the Lobster Mushroom.

I did a little research and learned that the Lobster Mushroom, or Hypomyces lactifluorum, is technically not a mushroom. Instead, its a fungus that parasitizes mushrooms in the Russula (Brittlecaps) and Lactarius (Milk-cap) genera.

I have seen a few Russula mushrooms around my yard, but never have been so lucky as to stumble upon a Lobster mushroom.

Instead, I learned about them vicariously by watching Wildcraft Dyeing and Erica Z play with dye projects with this fungi.

Surprise Foraging for Lobster Mushrooms

With some sort of divine timing, I went on a hike this past weekend in an area where mushroom foraging for personal use was allowed without a permit.

Now, truth be told I was hoping for Dyer’s Polypore. But in chatting with other hikers I learned that there were some “beyond prime” lobster mushrooms nearby.

They were disappointed, but I was delighted - this would be perfect for a dye project!

In true nerd fashion, I told them about how older lobster mushrooms as perfect for botanical pigment, and they encourage me to go get them!

And so I did. It took me a while to find them, but eventually they appeared. It was a mixed conifer forest, and the specimens were all along the edges of woodland and path or even in forested areas next to pavement.

Lobster mushroom indeed does smell fishy, in case you were wondering. I placed them in the refrigerator when I got home so as not to have them get too funky, but the scent in my refrigerator prompted me to transform them into a dye project the next day.

Here’s how I transformed these orange beauties into a dreamy and delicate pink color on cashmere.

Mushroom Dyeing Lifecycle

1. Ethical foraging
2. Prep mushrooms
3. Immerse mushrooms, fabric, and water in a pot and heat for several hours
4. Rinse fabric and dry

Materials Needed for Lobster Mushroom Dye

• Freshly harvested Lobster Mushrooms, processed to 1x-2x your fiber weight
  • In this video by Wildcraft Dyeing , she peeled the vibrantly pigmented skin off of the mushrooms, so I did the same
  • It was surprising to see that these mushrooms were bright white inside!
  • You want all of your pigmented pieces to be 1x-2x your fiber weight
• Protein fiber, like silk, cashmere or wool
  • I also tried this with a piece of cotton thread, and the color did not stick to it at all
  • I got a 100% cashmere sweater from ThredUp that I used for this project
• A dye vessel - something that you aren’t going to use for food
  • I used my thrifted aluminium dye pot for this, following the “pot as mordant” technique, which I was introduced to by Rebecca Desnos.
  • While you may wish to mordant your fabric beforehand, I did not apply any mordant
• Stovetop
• Total Time: 24 hours
  • Active Time: Around 4 hours or one afternoon for simmering
  • Inactive Time: I let the fiber sit with the mushrooms and dye liquid in the aluminum dye pot overnight
  • Active Time: 1 hour the next morning, I heated the pot up and let it sit for several more hours

→ Did you know? Technically, H. lactifluorum is a fungus that parasitizes another mushroom. In the end, this study found that the DNA of the original mushroom is hardly present!

Step-by-Step Guide to Dyeing with Fresh Lobster Mushrooms

1. Process your Mushrooms if you haven’t already

• If you’re working with fresh mushrooms, don’t forget to remove the orange skin and weigh that out against your fiber.

2. Fabric Prep

• Wet your fabric fully before starting the process - this will make it easier for the dye to adhere to your textile.

3. Add your lobster mushroom skin + fabric to your dye pot and cover with water

4. Turn on low heat on the stove

• Avoid boiling the water, bring to a bare simmer at the most

5. Light Pink Stage

• It took about 1 hour at low heat to see the pigment start to transfer to the cashmere fabric. The shade was a very soft blush pink.
• I let the pot hang out on low heat for an afternoon and into the evening, for a total of 6 hours.
• I then kept the fabric in the dye pot overnight (off the heat, of course).

6. Slightly Deeper Pink

• After letting the fabric sit overnight, there was definitely a deepening of the peachy pink color! It was akin to some light pink cosmos I have in my garden, or pasture roses.

7. Rinse-Dry-Soak

• I rinsed out the sweater, and to my surprise the color stayed on the fabric!
• I let it dry and then put it back into the dye pot for another 4 hours
• The color didn’t really deepen during this time, but I did feel like it evened out across the fabric.

8. Rinse Rinse Rinse

• All of those little pieces of lobster mushroom stuck to the cashmere fiber like they wanted to walk around with me while I was wearing the sweater.
• It took quite a few focused rinses in cold water to get them all off.
• I’ll likely strain them out before putting the fabric in next time!

The End Result!

→ Did you know? Mushrooms possibly evolved to have different pigments to impact taste (and thus, increase lifespan) or even as a natural sunblock. The pigments might also act as a defence against other harmful organisms (Phipps Conservatory).

Troubleshooting Tips I Learned Throughout the Process

Color Unevenness:

• If dye material is floating around in your dye pot, it can stick to your wool or cashmere fabric.
• This can also cause spotting or unevenness in the dyed textile
• I put some of my mushrooms into linen sachets so that less material would be floating around the dye pot. This can cause spotty coloration on your fabric.
• However, my sachets weren’t big enough for all of my dyestuff so I ended up having some floating around with the fabric.
• In the end, my sweater does have variations of color in it, but they did even out mostly with the second soak.

Dyestuff Residue:

• The same situation above - dyestuff floating in the pot - meant that pieces of mushroom got stuck to the cashmere fiber.
• I think if I was using silk, it wouldn’t have been such an issue as silk is slippery.
• It took a long time to rinse out.
• Either filter your dyestuff before adding in your fabric or use bigger sachets for your dye materials.

Issues with Dye Uptake on Cotton

• My cotton thread that I added to the dye pot with my cashmere sweater had no dye adhere to it.
• The cotton was pre-treated with goat milk and left to cure for a month, but no true mordants were used.
• Mushrooms work best with animal fibers, but maybe some color would have stuck to the thread had I used a mordant.

History of Fungal Pigments

• Green Elf Cup mushrooms and their habit of dyeing wood blue was utilized in artwork during the Renaissance.
• Jesse Adler makes pigments in makeup from mushrooms - a more sustainable and non-toxic source
• The Māori in New Zealand have a history of working with blue from the E. hochstetteri for tattoos

Biochemical Process of Mushroom Dyeing

Mushrooms offer a range of vibrant colors, thanks to their natural pigments. Some of these pigments, when they interact with protein fibers like wool or silk, are able to bond to the fabric.

What’s even better about dyeing with mushrooms is that they are acidic. This acidity can support the adherence of the pigment to the fiber, in a similar way to mordants.

Sustainability in the Clothing Industry: The Importance of Natural Dyes

While the advent of modern synthetic dyes was a boon for the fabric industry, it was and still is exceptionally damaging to the environment.

According to a study published in Biotechnology Research and Innovation, effluents from the dye process make up 80% of the fashion industry’s environmental footprint.

Fabric dyes have several negative impacts to surrounding waterways.

These include:

• reducing plants’ ability to photosynthesize, hindering growth
• causing health issues due to ingestion by animals, which amplifies up the food chain
• elevating levels of heavy metals in water
• entering the water cycle
• causing issues with irrigation, especially in developing nations, leading to reduced soil health and plant growth

In total, CNN reports that one-fifth of global water pollution owes its source to textile dye.

More sustainable solutions

A more sustainable solution would be to work with natural plant dyes from plants and mushrooms.

Finding plants that can adhere to the fabric long-term without mordants - typically made from metals - is even more eco-friendly.

This is why I choose to dye without pre-mordanting my fabrics with alum. I’m also very interested in botanical dyes that do not need a mordant. For example, both indigo and lichen are known for their ability to dye textiles without the addition of a metals like alum.

Bio-mordants are also something that I hope to explore, as outlined in this scientific review published by Environmental Science and Pollution Research in 2024. This is an innovative approach that supports the health of not only the planet, but the dyer too.

Companies that offer undyed clothing

Check out my guide to sourcing clothes and fabric for dye projects!

• Unbleached Apparel: 100% unbleached and undyed clothing, reasonably priced
• Groceries Apparel: Great source for clothes that are dyed with vegetables and other plants, they also have some items available in unbleached white. Reasonably priced.
• Industry of All Nations: Some undyed and unbleached options including naturally colored alpaca wool
• Housework: Undyed textiles like blankets and rugs along with options for undyed clothing

As I shared for this project, I sourced my cashmere sweater from ThredUp, an online thrift shop.

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After stepping into the world of mushroom dyeing, I’ve connected with a craft intertwines history, science, and the simple joy of colos. From the unexpected thrill of foraging to the satisfying process of seeing the first blush of color on cashmere, this experience highlights the beautiful, eco-friendly alternatives nature offers.

Whether you're a passionate crafter, a sustainability enthusiast, or just mushroom-curious, I hope this exploration inspires you to try natural dyeing.

Further Resources for your Dye Project

The Mushroom Color Atlas: Lobster Mushroom

Video Tutorials: Wildcraft Dyeing and Erica Z

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