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The current mushroom year made all „Fungi and Fibre“ symposium visitors from far and near happy. On Otepää on September 9-14 an international meeting of fungal dyers took place, with 84 representatives from 14 countries (Australia, USA, Canada, England, Scotland, Belgium, Luxemburg, Itaiy, Spain, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finalnd, Estonia).

 

When we came home two years ago from Jaca in Spain with the decision that this year we will invite all fungal dye friends to Estonia, the biggest question remained open until the beginning of September - whether fungi for dies would show up this year. Trips to the forest in July were enjoyable but fungi for dying that might already have shown up had not grown yet. August offered masses of mushrooms from the mushroom forests for preserving but regarding fungi for dying the woods were still as modest as before, until the second half of August.

 

A splendid fungus that fungal dyers love is the velvet rollrim (Tapinella atrotomentosa). Walking in the woods with Mare around Elva in August and checking the same old tree stump where the rolllrim has grown in previous years we could only be happy – this year too beautiful fruiting bodies were growing. Fungal dyers manage to dye yarns in many shades with this fungus – beginning with violet and brownish and ending with the greens .

 

Velvet rollrim

 

Yarns dyed with velvet rollrim

 

The velvet rollrim was one of 14 fungus species with which the international company at Otepää dyed yarns. In all 43 differently coloured yarns were dyed with fungi. In addition to dying yarns the guests could participate in dying fish skin and silk, and join several workshops introducing our handicraft traditions.

 

 Airi Gailit and 43 rainbow-coloured yarns dyed with fungi

 

The guests were left with an unforgettable impression of our forests that we introduced to the mushroom gatherers. The unsullied nature and the opportunity to walk out to pick mushrooms freely in the woods was a pleasure for delegates from several countries. This they cannot do in their home countries. While it was not yet possible in August to rejoice over a favourite species, because there were not any surprise webcaps yet, September delighted us with another favourite, a fungus for the valuable red colour that was found on forest trips and even picked to bring along. In various dying workshops 11 differently coloured yarns were charmed out of the surprise webcap.

 

Surprise webcap

 

 

 Examples of yarns dyed with surprise webcap

 

The international symposium Fungi and Fibre will take place again in October 2016, and then in Canada!

 

Who has a Facebook account is welcome to join the group „Dyeing with mushrooms“, with much information on fungi for dying and fungal dyes.