Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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

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! [...]

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.

Having eagerly anticipated the arrival of this book, I was a little disappointed that the pages detailing different plants, etc, did not have any pictures of actual yarn or fabric, but only a series of paint-chip type colors, with a small legend next to each referring to the mordants and modifiers. The key to the legends is hidden earlier in the book and hard to find. Having said that, the first part of the book, dealing with techniques, safety, equipment, etc., is excellent. My favorite pages were 62 and 63, "25 colors from one dye bath" which I felt were the best illustration of the wonderful possibilities using actual yarn.
The variety of plant sources was an eye-opener, and the color possibilities enticing. Overall well worth the money.

This book has every bit of information anyone would need to start to dye fibers with natural materials. Great book.

This book will give you all the essentials on getting started with natural dyestuffs. It covers what plants to look for, approximate colors, and detailed information on best methods for color extraction. It covers a lot of information on mordants and modifiers, and which ones will most likely get you the best colors. It also covers a lot of local plant possibilities as well as ones you would have to order, but the book assumes you are working with actual plant matter and not dye extracts. This shouldn't be the only book you ever look at but in my opinion its the best one to start with. The only thing I'm not fond of is the color swatches, which aren't entirely accurate. I would prefer actual fiber samples to get a better idea. It's a lot of information to take in as well. But it's a great book to start with and it will come in handy for a long time.

This book has everything you need to know when creating dyes from natural products. It dicsusses the use of mordants, what happens when you dye the flowers of a plant as well as what happens when you dye the leaves/stems. The book even discusses dyeing with bark!

This is the most interesting and detailed dyeing book in my collection and I've placed it next to India Flint's book on my shelf. None of my other books on botanical dyes can hold a candle to these two.

I love the way this book is organized. It makes finding the plant you are looking for easy - and it also shows how fabric will look using the plant and several different mordants. I bought this book right after I purchased India Flint's "eco dyeing" and have found it to be the perfect companion.

Highly recommended!

THIS BOOK IS A GREAT NEW ADDITION TO MY COLLECTION. IT HAS FANTASTIC PICTURES AND AN INCREDIBLE AMOUNT OF INFORMATION. IT TRULY IS A COMPLETE GUIDE.