1.  Gather up your leaves just as they reach maturity and used forthwith  ( I have used roughly 8 oz).  Picking your leaves on a wet day or after a heavy dew will make them easier to cook out.Shred the leaves or tear apart with your hands and place in dye pot.  Cover the leaves with water pushing them down until they are well soaked.  Because leaves are much slower to cook out, they benefit from soaking out overnight in water to cover in the dyepot.  Then cook the leaves for 45 minutes at a temperature at or below 190 degrees F or 88 degrees C.  If you use leaves that are yellow-green the dye bath may produce a beige or tan, if precessed at too high a temperature.  Then you will strain off the leaves and discard them.  Also make certain no twigs, nuts, or bark are clinging to the leaves after they are picked, as the tannin in such substances would turn the bath away from yellow-green to tan and brown.  Also when collecting your leaves for your dyebath, make certain they have fallen on clean ground.  As leaves that are contaminated by road dust, smoke, and dirt I have found that they will produce quite murky shades.

2.  Now select the fiber that you want to dye.  Always soak out your fiber that is to be dyed for at least one hour or longer.

3.  With Leaves you will want to use Alum, blue vitriol, or iron as your mordant and your stainless steel pot.  These mordants tend to enhance the 'green' range that you want to obtain.

4.  You can use your pre-mordanted fiber if you have any.

5.  Add additional water to your dyebath if necessary, so the fiber will be able to 'swim freely' in the bath.  This additional water will not decrease the strength of the bath but will ensure more even dyeing. 

6.  Dissolve the Alum, blue vitriol, or iron in boiling water and add it to the dyebath, stirring well.

7.  Now add your wet fiber to the dyebath.  Make sure that the fiber is the same temperature as the bath.  If the bath is hotter then the water in which your fiber has been soaking, add a little cold water to the dyebath to cool it.  Or you can place your fiber in another hotter rinse bath to raise its temperature to match the dyebath.  Although, controlling the temperature of your dyebath  by adding additional hot or cold water is much more satisfactory than attempting to increase or decrease the temperature of the wet fiber.

8.  Start heating your dyebath to a slow simmer (190 F, 88-90 C) for 30 minutes for a soft yellow-green.  Remember though now that your fiber is in the pot, the dyebath should not boil.  You will want to maintain this temperature for 1/2 to 3 hours or more, depending ont the fiber you are dyeing, and the color you are wanting.  The longer you cook it the brighter or darker your color will be.

9.  During your dyeing process, turn the fiber over in the bath and move it around to ensure that the dye penetrates easily.  Add mor water to the bath if necessary.  When doing this, first remove the fiber, then add the water and replace the fiber in the pot.  You should always be sufficient dye liquor in your pot at all times so that your fiber will 'swim' easily in it and its not jammed down against the bottom of the pot.

10.  Your dyeing process is finished when the desired color has been reached.  Remove your fiber from the dyebath.

11.  You can use your dyebath a second, third or even a fourth time, if sufficient pigment remains.  Otherwise, discard the bath in a safe location.  If you have a septic tank you should dispose of your dyebaths in a ditch or even on a manure pile - anywhere - but away from children and pets.  If you live in the city you can pour it down the drain; as the level of pollution is such that your dyebath will not add significantly to the problem.  However, if your conscience bothers you, lug the dyebaths off to the municipal disposal plant.

12.  Rinse your dyed fiber in successive baths of clear water, starting with a bath equal to the temperature of the dyebath itself, and finishing off with a cool rinse.  You should rinse your fiber 3 to 4 times, each slightly cooler then than the last.  Too much rinsing is better than too little.  A thorough rinising will prevent 'crocking' and will help increse the fiber's resistance to fading from repeated washings.  You will have some color run-off during the rinsing, but this is normal.  If you use an additional 1 Tbsp of vinegar it will help prevent excessive run-off, but it may also slightly alter the color of the dyed fiber