Douglas Fir - Natural Dyeing
Douglas Fir is an evergreen conifer native to the coastal regions of western North America, from central California north through Oregon and Washington to British Columbia, Canada. Despite its common names, it is not a true fir, spruce, or pine. It is also not a hemlock; the genus name Pseudotsuga means "false hemlock". Doug Fir is a wonderful tree to explore. Depending on the part of the tree used and the addition of a mordant, colors can range from peaches, soft tans, and yellows to chartreuse. You can create an entire color story with one tree.
The bark and cones contain tannins, making them an ideal material for natural dyeing.
Folklore & Magick: The Douglas fir has long been associated with protection and resilience.
Indigenous legend in the Pacific Northwest tells that long ago, there was a great fire in the forest. Many animals were fleeing frantically, trying to escape the flames. Tiny mice, not fast enough to outrun the fire, were trying to find shelter among the trees of the forest and were continuously denied. Finally, they approached the large and mighty Douglas fir and asked if they could take shelter amongst its branches. The Douglas fir agreed to help the mice and allowed them to climb up its thick, fire-resistant trunks and hide in its cones. The mice survived the fire, and to this day, if you examine Douglas fir cones, you can see the tails of the mice sticking out of the scales of a cone.
Range: In California, it is found in the Klamath Mountains and the Cascade Range, the California Coast Ranges as far south as the Santa Lucia Mountains in Monterey County, and the Sierra Nevada as far south as the Huntington Lake region in Fresno County.
Growing Habitat: Rocky slopes, bluffs, and open woodlands, often alongside other trees like Madrone and Oaks. On a commercial scale, they make up nearly half of all Christmas trees grown in the U.S.
Harvest Time: You can begin gathering cones from the ground from August through October or until the rainy season begins. The window for gathering may vary. The longer the cones sit in the sun, the more they will shift from rust to a deeper brown. This affects the resulting color. Cones from the previous season will appear more gray. Please see the picture below for reference.
The inner bark or sawdust depends on fallen branches, tree trimming, or cutting down fallen trees. I gathered bags of sawdust and inner bark from a neighbor's fallen tree after a huge storm.
DyeStuff: Inner bark, woodchips, and cones. Needles can be used to create beiges and yellows, but I do not have any fabric samples at this time.
Fabric Samples are a mix of white and mixed linen, cotton, wool, and silk
Dyeing Instructions can be found in my book ‘The Natural Dye Handbook’. This is an affiliate link for bookshop.org. This means that if you purchase through my link, I may earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you.
More information is available to paid members on my Patreon. If you're interested in subscribing to my Patreon and supporting my exploration of natural dyes. My Patreon is mainly focused on slow stitching, but I’ve begun posting about four natural dye plants each month.
I’m teaching at Art Stays this September. If you are interested in exploring your landscape and foraging for plants that produce natural dyes and learning more about how different mordants affect color, this is the Natural Dye Retreat for you. There are other workshops happening at the same time so please check those out as well.
This is a photo I took of cones that I harvested from a fallen branch near my house on August 10, 2025, plus cones I gathered by the garden.