Rinse, Dry and Wear It

Let it cool, then lift it out

Your wool has spent an hour or more drinking colour. Now the dyeing is done — but don't rush. Dyers often let the pot cool down slowly with the wool still inside, sometimes for several hours or overnight. As it cools, the wool keeps soaking up the last of the colour, and slow cooling is kinder to the fibre. A grown-up lifts the wool out once it is cool enough to handle safely.

Rinse gently, dry in the shade

Fresh from the dye bath, your wool is full of loose colour and little bits of mushroom. Time to clean it up.

Rinse the wool in water that is roughly the same temperature as the wool. A big shock from hot to cold can make wool go lumpy and felted, so keep it gentle.
Keep rinsing until the water runs clear, not cloudy with dye.
Squeeze, don't wring or twist hard. Press the water out gently, or roll the wool in a towel.
Dry it flat or hanging, out of strong direct sunlight. Bright sun can slowly fade natural colours.

As it dries, your wool often looks a little lighter than it did when wet. Now you can see your true, finished colour.

Will the colour last?

How well a dye holds up is called colourfastness. Two things test it: washing and light. This is exactly why we did all that careful work earlier — the mordant helps the colour grip so it survives washing, and drying in the shade protects it from fading in the sun.

Natural mushroom colours can gently soften over time, and that is part of their charm. To keep yours looking good, wash it rarely, in cool water, and dry it away from harsh sun.

Make something you can wear

Now for the reward: turning your dyed wool into something real. Depending on what you dyed, you could:

Tie the ends of a dyed scarf and wear your own colour.
Wind dyed yarn into a ball and, with a grown-up, knit or finger-knit a small band or bracelet.
Dye several small pieces in yellow, orange and purple and make a little colour card to show off your mushroom rainbow.

Every time you wear it, you can tell people the truth that sounds like magic: this colour came from a mushroom.

Remember the golden rules

You are now a fungi colour scientist. Carry these rules with you forever:

Never pick a wild mushroom, and never eat a wild mushroom. Dye mushrooms are for the pot, never the plate — some are poisonous. Anything with heat, hot water or dye chemicals is a grown-up's job. You are the one who plans, measures, times, predicts and records.

From a dull brown mushroom to a scarf glowing with colour — you did the whole journey. Brilliant work, colour scientist!