Colours from Nature: A Dyer's Handbook is by Jenny Dean and published by Search Press Limited (Great Britain, 2009). This is another book of treasures for the home dyer. It is full of information about dyeing, inspiration for gathering ingredients, recipes, and photographs showing the beautiful colors that are possible from nature.
The table of contents covers all the basic information including equipment and safety, preparing materials for dyeing, mordanting, and gathering and extracting dye colors from plant sources, and dyeing fiber. She also provides information about other dye sources, such as shellfish (Murex) and insects (Kermes, Lac/Sticklac, and Cochineal). Dean provides over 30 pages of recipes organized by color, and a full bibliography packed with information. She takes the point of view to consider the environment and human impact when gathering dye sources (for example, lichen can take 20-30 years to grow, so harvest only from limbs that have fallen to the ground). She also recommends avoiding the use of metal mordants since they can be toxic for people and the environment.
Dean defines three categories of dyes, summarized here:
This is another book that I recommend for the home dyer. It is full of useful information, and goes a little deeper about dye sources than I've seen in other books. I also appreciate her concern for using natural materials and avoiding those that could be harmful to humans and the environment.
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| Image copyrighted by Search Press Limited |
The table of contents covers all the basic information including equipment and safety, preparing materials for dyeing, mordanting, and gathering and extracting dye colors from plant sources, and dyeing fiber. She also provides information about other dye sources, such as shellfish (Murex) and insects (Kermes, Lac/Sticklac, and Cochineal). Dean provides over 30 pages of recipes organized by color, and a full bibliography packed with information. She takes the point of view to consider the environment and human impact when gathering dye sources (for example, lichen can take 20-30 years to grow, so harvest only from limbs that have fallen to the ground). She also recommends avoiding the use of metal mordants since they can be toxic for people and the environment.
Dean defines three categories of dyes, summarized here:
- Substantive dyes – those that are rich in tannins, such as bark, leaves, or fruits of certain plants (like walnut, oak, and sumac).
- Vat dyes – those that require some kind of fermentation, such as Indigo or Tyria or Imperial purple (from shellfish). The coloring matter is not soluble in water so can't be simmered to extract. Instead the dye material coats the fiber, and may appear almost colorless as the fiber emerges from the dye vat. The color develops with exposure to oxygen or light.
- Adjective dyes – those that require a mordant in order for colors to fully develop and be color fast. Most mordants are metal based.
This is another book that I recommend for the home dyer. It is full of useful information, and goes a little deeper about dye sources than I've seen in other books. I also appreciate her concern for using natural materials and avoiding those that could be harmful to humans and the environment.
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