Wild Color, Revised and Updated Edition: The Complete Guide to Making and Using Natural Dyes [Paperback]

Jenny Dean (Author), Karen Diadick Casselman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 16, 2010

The best resource on natural dyeing is back, updated to make your colorful hobby even more beautiful and rewarding.
 
A practical and inspiring guide to creating and using natural dyes from plants, Wild Color, Revised and Updated Edition, offers the latest information on current environmentally friendly dyeing techniques and more than 65 species of plants and natural dyestuffs.
 
This comprehensive book outlines all the necessary equipment, how to select fibers and plant parts, choose the right methods for mordanting and dyeing, test color modifiers and the fastness of dyed colors, and obtain a range of gorgeous colors from every plant, from alter to woad, shown in more than 250 swatches.
 
Wild Color, Revised and Updated Edition, is the all-in-one resource for fiber enthusiasts, including knitters, sewers, and weavers; gardeners who are interested in new uses for traditional dye plants; and eco-conscious DIYers who want authoritative information about the natural dyeing process and the plants that are essential to it.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

JENNY DEAN has worked with natural dyes for more than 30 years. She is the author of several books and numerous articles on natural dyeing, and also conducts lectures, workshops, and courses on the subject. A collection of her dyed samples is included in the collection of the Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage in Brussels, Belgium.
 
KAREN DIADICK CASSELMAN has taught dyeing techniques throughout the U.S. and internationally. Her dyed pieces are included in the collections of the Smithsonian Institution and other museums.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Potter Craft; Rev Upd edition (November 16, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0823058794
• ISBN-13: 978-0823058792
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 0.4 x 10.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #41,722 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This one is useful!, December 7, 2010

By 

William E. Isakson (California) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Wild Color, Revised and Updated Edition: The Complete Guide to Making and Using Natural Dyes (Paperback)

There is no question that this one is useful. It gives the specifics of what to use and how. The day this book arrived was a garbage day and I had just dug up my dahlia tubers and put the stems in the recycle and out to the curb. Then I sat down browse through the book. At 10 O'Clock that night I was out at the curb in my bathrobe digging through the recycle bin to reclaim my dahlia stems. The dye from those came out just great. I tried them several ways on different wools and then spun yarn. I have also used other materials from the garden that were covered in this book, all with good results. If you want to try your hand at dyeing with natural products, this is the book you want.
Bill Isakson
Richmond, CA

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Colorful Christmas Present, December 25, 2010

By 

Renessa S. "Renessa" ((Kentucky, USA)) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wild Color, Revised and Updated Edition: The Complete Guide to Making and Using Natural Dyes (Paperback)

I just got this for Christmas today! :D And I had to stop opening everything else as I flipped through to discover the number and vibrancy of colors you can get out of plants I never expected there to be abundant pigment in. I am a budding medieval recreator, and a college student on a budget, so I'm definitely looking forward to being able to save money on making garb by buying white natural fabrics in bulk and snagging a few plants so I can achieve period dyes. (Not to mention one day save money by just dyeing and making my own modern clothes.)

I also watch Jenny's blog through an RSS feed (that's how I found out this was being updated and reprinted and threw it on my wishlist them moment it came up on Amazon). She talks about some interesting little projects some times, very informative. Check it out! [...]

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great resource if you like dyeing--and don't have the original, June 19, 2011

By 

D. Boyken "Knitting Scholar .com" (New Jersey) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Wild Color, Revised and Updated Edition: The Complete Guide to Making and Using Natural Dyes (Paperback)

This is an update of the 1999 edition of this very detailed, very thorough book on natural dyeing.

I don't have a copy of the original, so I can't tell you exactly how or why this is different, but what I can tell you is that this is an exhaustive overview of the dyeing process. Starting with a history of dyes, and moving into the techniques, it explores everything you could ever want to know. Or so I assume.

The book goes into great detail about how to prepare your leaves, roots, barks, and petals for dyeing. What kind of water to use (and how your water's pH balance affects the process). Whether to use mordants, and which ones. The differences in dyeing animal fibers and vegetable fibers. The effects of color modifiers ... all of this is explained in depth.

Then she gets to specific plants. She provides a photo of what they look like, where to find them, and color swatches for the colors you can expect from them, depending on the process you choose. The photos are lovely to look at, and the swatches clear-they're of the "paint chip" variety, not photos of actual, dyed yarn.

This section is sorted alphabetically by the Latin name for each dye, and it took me a while to figure that out. Each page lists the Latin name in small type at the top, and then the common name (Hollyhock, Madder, etc.) after, in a larger typeface, so that it's the familiar name that catches your eye. It took me a couple passes to realize that the book wasn't sorted by color themes or by the easily-read names at the top of the page, but the smaller, easy-to-ignore Latin names. I wonder why they went this way, or at least why they then kept the Latin so small, but ... that's what Indexes are for, and this has a good one.

Ultimately, this is a beautiful book. If you're at all interested in dyeing-especially with natural sources rather than bottles of store-bought stuff that is harsher for the environment-you owe it to yourself to take a look.