Having noticed how red stained our hands were after podding the purple podded peas, we wondered if it was possible to dye with the pods. I googled but found no instructions. So we gave it a go.
The white skein is undyed, the pale one with a couple of hours mordanting with alum, before dyeing, and the darker with 24 hours of mordant, before going in the dyebath. We did hope to get the lovely rich red colour of the dye water, but that washed away with the rinse, 
but we are left with a nice warm brown.
Most dyeing with natural (and available – too much natural dyeing still involves importing ready made materials) seem to make muddy earthy colours.
I suspect it is the same chemical that makes red cabbage that colour, and did read that whilst dyeing could be achieved with that, it is not colour fast with washing or light. Have to keep on experimenting to see if we can get different colours from it.
Lovely shades – even if it’s not the red you were hoping for. I’d be interested to hear how light and colour fast it turns out to be. I’ve had a look through my natural dye books and can’t find any references to peas so you may have discovered a new dyestuff!
I agree with you about imported materials – I think this is especially true with the dye extracts that are gaining popularity at the moment. I must confess to buying a ’starter set’ of natural dye extracts without really thinking about the implications – it contained kamala, pomegranate, sanderswood and other exotics which I feel really quite guilty about now! Needless to say, I won’t be replacing them once I’ve run out. In fact, I’m a little unsure about extracts in general – as I’m doing a lot of dyeing at the moment in preparation for a craft fair in the autumn, I really appreciate how they speed up the process and make it easier to repeat colours. However, I got into natural dyeing as I was interested in sustainability and being able to grow or gather my own dyestuffs. Using a little pack of powder seems far removed from that and seems to have more in common with chemical dyeing… ho hum. Sorry for the rant! I guess it’s something that’s been on my mind quite a bit recently and I felt the need to vent! 
Back to your lovely skeins – when you say the third skein was mordanted for 24 hours was that with heat or without? I usually only mordant with heat for 45 minutes or so then leave to cool overnight. I didn’t realise the length of time mordanting could effect the colour so greatly…
we are not pure.. do use acid dyes for other projects.. its just as you say popular now to use ‘natural dyes’ – that are processed and imported, and I have no idea if they are sustainable or not… so then you have to question your reasons for choosing natural, and whether it is or is not more virtuous than manufactured dyes. I’m not sure.
besides, natural and available dyestuffs are cheaper!
re mordant – both times we soaked the skein, then heated it in the alum/water mixture , then left in the liquid. but the second lot got 24 hours pre soaking and 24 hours sitting in the modant after heating, whereas the first lot only got a couple of hours each time. we saw two methods.. and the shorter time one seemed less faff. but after failing to get much colour, we thought we would try the longer method. with the right mordant, and other additives.. it might be possible to get something in the blue/purple/red colour.. but the brown is nice.