Woad, weld and madder are the 3 main European dye plants. Extracting the famous blue pigment from fresh woad leaves is a long but exciting process. Weld is an attractive plant with long flower spikes which yield an instant lemon yellow. The fleshy roots of madder produce a red dye which is sensitive to temperature and to the mineral content of the water. All these natural dyes are both light and wash fast and have been in use for thousands of years.