You are here: > Home > Textile Handicrafts > Origin of Colors

Natural Dyes

Every dye used by Chol-Chol weavers is of an animal, vegetable or mineral origin - such as clay dirt, onion skins, flowers, roots, grass, lichen, fruits, soot, among other.

The actual dying process is still quite rustic, with weavers using ancient Mapuche techniques of submerging clean wool into a cast iron pot of boiling that contains just the right combination of natural dyes to produce the desired color. Weavers use natural fixatives, such as salt, vinegar or naturally-occurring aluminum powder, to intensify and ensure the wool fibers hold onto the colors. In summary, weavers truly use a variety of natural resources at their reach to produce the beautiful colors in the wool.

Origin of Colors