St. John’s Wort(Solstice Wort) - Natural Dyeing

St. John’s Wort is one of my favorite plants. I usually start to notice the little yellow blooms as early as the first week of June. It's in bloom around the Summer Solstice. This marks the beginning of the season for gathering an abundance of dye plants from my surrounding landscape. Solstice Wort can be found in most places throughout the world and has a long history as a medicinal and magickal plant. If you pinch the bright yellow flowers between your fingers, they leave a purplish-red mark. I generally use the stems and leaves, saving most of the flowers for medicinal purposes, but always include some in the dye bath. Colors range from vibrant greens to olives. As the dye bath ages and becomes exhausted, the colors shift to golden yellows. If possible, gather it on the Summer Solstice and use it to create a dye bath to infuse fabric, thread, or yarn for use in the coming months, whenever you need to invite sunshine and warmth into your life.

Folk Magick: Solstice Wort is often associated with protection and healing. It's believed to ward off evil spirits, protect against lightning and fire, and attract love and good fortune. It's also used to ward off melancholy and to banish negative energies.

Range: It's native to Europe, Asia, and North Africa, but it has naturalized in many temperate regions worldwide, including parts of North and South America, Australia, and Africa.

Growing Habitat: along roadsides, meadows, fields, and you can cultivate in your garden.

Harvest Time: Early June into August. These harvest times are based on my area in Northern California. The window for gathering may vary depending on the weather and the air temperature.

DyeStuff: Fresh leaves, stems, and a few flowers. I have not used it dried. I often gather and freeze it if I can't use it right away.

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.

You can find sashiko thread naturally dyed with Solstice Wort in my shop. There are 10 different colors to choose from, including one I overdyed with indigo to create a beautiful dappled effect.

This is a photo I took near my house on July 9th, 2025. I was excited to find a new patch. I recently started mapping out places where I find it growing. I include the date and the size of the patch. I want to go back and gather some seeds and see if I can get them to grow in the garden.