Dyeing Books

A Dyer's Manual - $32.00
Jill Goodwin. An experimental dyer for over fifty years and well respected for her knowledge of dye plants and her work with woad, Jill published A Dyer's Manual in 1982. Following many requests a new edition has been produced, and her enthusiasm and interest can be shared with a new generation of dyers. Contents include: Preparation of Fibres, Mordants, Test Dyeing, Dyeing With Weeds, Dyes From the Garden, Ancient Dyes, Indigo, Lichen Dyes, Dyeing in Schools, Using Dyed Fibres, and an extensive chart of plants, and the colours they give with different mordants. 34 colour plates and many more illustrations.

Ashford Book of Dyeing Revised Edition - $35.00
Ann Milner. An outline of the basic principles, describing fabrics, relevant dyes (both natural and chemical) and techniques. For the more experienced dyer, she also provides detailed recipes for named dyes, instructions for advanced techniques, and a clear discussion of percentage dyeing. The author shows how to achieve novelty effects with hot exhaust dyeing and how to use such novel heat sources as the sun and the microwave oven. 192pp. Pb.

The Craft of Natural Dyeing - $22.00
Jenny Dean. The author has researched ethnic dyeing techniques, shows a concern with conservational, environmental and safety factors, and works with both animal and vegetable fibers. She starts with onion skins, details natural mordants and metallic salts, testing leaves and stems, prunings, flower heads, barks, roots, woods, skins, hulls, berries, seeds and lichens. A must-have for all dyers concerned with the environment, no matter what level of experience. Filled with gorgeous color photos of plants, materials and how to use them. Pb.

Dyeing In Plastic Bags - $29.00
Helen Deighan. Dyeing can be soooo complicated and messy. It's a pleasure discovering an innovative book making it easy. Grab rubber gloves, plastic bags and plastic pans (cat boxes!) and dive into dyeing! Deighan happened upon her plastic bag technique while preparing a dye workshop for 10. Knowing that cloth first in the dye bath is brightest, 10 individual pots seemed necessary. Not owning 10 pots, but recalling bagged salad. Voila! The technique was born! Chapters include graduated and tie-dye techniques, working with children, record keeping, and frequently asked questions. Bright photographs with whimsical line drawings are smattered among the step-by-step directions. 80pp. Pb.

Eco Colour: Botanical Dyes for Beautiful Textiles - $49.00
India Flint. Dyeing with plants is a kind of botanical alchemy, a process that gives beautiful and sometimes surprising results. It is also a gentle and ecologically sustainable alternative to synthetic dyes, which are often harmful in themselves and in the processes used in their manufacture. The book encompasses only ecologically sustainable plant-dye methods using renewable resources, and attempts to take the path of doing the least possible harm to the dyer, the end user of the object, and the environment. Various techniques are discussed. Recipes include a number of entirely new processes developed by the author, as well as guidelines for plant collection, directions for distillation of non-toxic mordants and methodologies for applying plant dyes. The book is aimed at both the novice home dyer and textile or design professionals seeking to extend their skills. 238pp. Hb.

The Hand Dyeing Yarn and Fleece - $24.00
Gail Callahan. Self-taught dyer Gail Callahan uses fiber, color, and heat to create exciting new yarns and yarn colors. Her recipe-style instructions lead readers through a variety of simple techniques that turn plain or outdated yarns into colorful fibers. There are even eight projects for knitters eager to use their new yarns. Standard kitchen equipment is all that's needed to set up a kitchen dye shop. Dyeing can be done in a microwave oven, a sturdy stovetop kettle, a crockpot, a traditional oven, or even an electric frying pan — Callahan covers every method. Instructions are included for dyeing singlecolour yarns as well as designing self-striping and multicolored yarns with dip-dyeing, tie-dyeing hand-painting, and other inventive techniques. Detailed advice on color theory and types of dyes, including food colors and other "grocery store" dyes, make the entire process achievable for complete beginners. 168. Hb.

Handbook of Natural Plant Dyes - $24.00
Sasha Duerr. Buttery yellow from garden weeds or gorgeous garnet-red dye from flowers — achieving stunning colors for your fabric, yarn, and other natural materials is almost as easy as boiling water, with ingredients as close as your spice cabinet and as plentiful as fallen leaves on an autumn day. Through step-by-step instructions and color-saturated photographs, textile designer Sasha Duerr explains the basics of making and using natural plant dye, from gathering materials and making the dyes to simple ideas for how to use them. Have a picnic on a sunny turmeric-yellow tablecloth, give a baby some adorable acorn-dipped booties, craft a set of stunning black-walnut pillows, or treat yourself to a little black(berry) dress. Experimenting with color has never been more tempting to try. Gentle, sustainable, garden-to-garment practices will inspire knitters, sewers, and fabric lovers of all stripes to transform fiber, textiles, and even pre-loved clothes into works of art — and to have a lot of fun in the process. 172pp. Pb.

Hand-Dyed Yarn Craft Projects - $23.00
Debbie Tomkies. This book shows how even an inexperienced crafter can dye yarn using simple techniques and basic household equipment, and create unique and charming accessories. The items to make from the customized yarns begin with very simple shapes for which only one or two knitting or crochet stitches are needed. 155pp. Pb.

The History of Woad and the Medieval Woad Vat - $19.00
John Edmonds. A short history of the techniques used for indigo dyeing from woad before the introduction of synthetic dyes. John Edmonds is a retired engineer who has researched and recreated the textile dyes used in Europe from 500 BC to the 19th century. The ancient methods using woad and imperial purple have been of particular interest. In 2003 he was awarded the Open Prize for the Presentation of Heritage Research at the British Association's Festival of Science. 47pp. Pb.

Indigo: In Search of the Color That Seduced the World - $20.00
Catherine E McKinley. Now in Paperback! For almost five millennia, in every culture and in every major religion, indigo - a blue pigment obtained from the small green leaf of a parasitic shrub through a complex process - has been at the center of turbulent human encounters. Indigo is the story of this precious dye and its ancient heritage: its relationship to slavery as the "hidden half" of the transatlantic slave trade, its profound influence on fashion, and its spiritual significance, which is little recognized but no less alive today. It is an untold story, brimming with rich, electrifying tales of those who shaped the course of colonial history and a world economy. But Indigo is also the story of a personal quest: Catherine McKinley is the descendant of a clan of Scots who wore indigo tartan as their virile armor; the kin of several generations of Jewish "rag traders"; the maternal granddaughter of a Massachusetts textile factory owner; and the paternal granddaughter of African slaves - her ancestors were traded along the same Saharan routes as indigo, where a length of blue cotton could purchase human life. McKinley's journey in search of beauty and her own history ultimately leads her to a new and satisfying path, to finally "taste life." Indigo will be irresistible to read. 236pp. Pb.

Indigo, Madder and Marigold - $47.00
Trudy Van Stralen. The author gives 3-day workshops and sets up a sample workshop in this book, having you produce 24 dyed skeins and samples. She uses 20+ traditional dyestuffs from renewable resources, minimal mordants, some in combination with others, and a creative approach to dye mixing to produce a stunning range from a few dyepots. Instructions and recipes, along with equipment, preparation, use of mordants, and more bring you everything but drab colors. It's a treasure. 127pp. Hb.

Medieval Textile Dyeing - $42.00
John Edmonds. This book is an attempt to review and explain some of the techniques available to commercial textile dyers in Europe before 1600. Based on contemporary accounts and practical experimentation in recreating fabrics using the surviving techniques. 76pp. Pb.

Natural Dyeing - $23.00
Jackie Crook. For thousands of years, natural dyes have been celebrated for their subtlety and diversity. And, thanks to contemporary concerns about chemicals and toxins, their popularity is surging again. Fortunately, as this vibrant guide so elegantly shows, the craft is both easy and enjoyable to explore and requires no special equipment: just ordinary pots and pans. A thoroughly illustrated tutorial covers all the basics of hot and cool dyeing, and 30 colorful options to try, including roots and plants (madder, tumeric, henna), wood (cutch, fustic), flowers (safflower, dandelion, daffodil), leaves and stalks (tea, rhubarb, indigo), and fruits and vegetables (blackberry, wild cherry, avocado). From pale pinks and vibrant oranges to earthy browns and rich blues, a vast spectrum of hues await. 112pp. Pb.

Natural Dyes and Home Dyeing - $11.00
Rita Adrosko. This is two books in one. The first documents the use of about 50 of the most common natural materials in the United States used for dyeing before the introduction of synthetic dyes. The second is a revised version of "Home Dyeing with Natural Dyes," an out-of-print U.S. Department of Agriculture publication first issued in 1935. The dye recipes in that publication still stand among the most thoroughly tested of those published in recent years. 160pp. Pb.

Orizomagami - $20.00
Embellish Magazine. Orizomegami is essentially paper (or fabric) that has been folded and then dyed to produce a pattern when the paper is unfolded. This idea has been practiced in Japan and around the world for centuries. If you work with fabrics, you might notice similarities between orizomegami and the Japanese fabric dyeing techniques of shibori or itajime. The basic technique is simple. Each paper or fabric that you dye is completely unique and a surprise when you unfold it and the pattern is revealed. Orizomegami uses inexpensive materials often found around a house, takes only minutes to set up (and clean up), can be completely non-toxic and fume free (depending on what dyes you choose), and even a 5-year old can produce beautiful results. This book goes beyond the common basic folds and applications, and explores more of the possibilities. Consider this book a jumping-off point, or a creativity-booster. There are infinite numbers of fold and dye possibilities awaiting discovery! Pb.

The Dyer's Companion - $31.00
Elijah Bemiss. This treatise reveals the exact methods of natural dyeing along with rare insights into the life of early 19th-century dyers. Reprinted from the expanded 1815 edition, it offers more than 100 recipes for shades of reds, blues, yellows, browns, and blacks, divided into dyes for woolens, linens, and cottons. Unabridged, unaltered republication of the (1815) revised edition. New introduction with sources of supply by Rita J. Adrosko. 336pp. Pb.

Wild Color (Revised Edition) - $34.00
Jenny Dean. For dyers of all types of fibers, from beginner to experienced, or for gardeners interested in new uses for traditional plants, who want to learn successful techniques for dyeing with natural materials. Wild Color, Revised and Updated Edition, documents dyeing techniques for more than 65 plant species, presenting recipes and color swatches for over 250 results. 144pp. Pb.