The dyeing of textiles and other materials is a rewarding and delightful way to bring the colors of nature to daily living. In this fascinating book, the authors have compiled extensive information to bring the techniques, plants, and lore of natural dyeing within every reader s reach."

"'Harvesting Color' presents the entire process of infusing your life with color--finding the right plants, harvesting them at the best time, transforming the crop into beautiful dye, and, finally, marring pigment to fiber. In this beautiful book, Rebecca Burgess showcases thre dozen common plants that yield striking hues. Citing fascinating botanical lore, she demystifies the process of recognizing each plant in the wild. For those you can grow yourself, she details when to sow the seed and how to nuture the plant. For all the plants, you'll learn the optimal time to harvest, as well as how to extract the best dyes" --Cover flap.

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. --from publisher description

"Describes the use of plants that can be grown in the garden or collected from the countryside ... illustrated with accurate and detailed botanical watercolours and samples of the colours the plants produce. [Includes] five different garden designs using dye plants; step-by-step guide to dyeing wool, silk and cotton; solar dyeing - how to use the sun as a heat source; how to dye felt in all its forms"--Cover.

"Plants, algae, fungi and insects have been used as dye sources for centuries. Focusing on the sources of dyes that grow wild, or are suitable for cultivation, in Northern Europe, this book explores the versatility, practical uses and environmentally safe applications of natural dyes, while at the same time delving into their botany, chemistry and methods of dyeing. The reader is presented with details of dyes from different sources and information on dyeing practice accompanied by a wealth of beautiful photographic images that illustrate the possible tangible end results discussed in the narrative. Dyeing has traditionally been linked with small-scale craftsmanship and many recipes for home dyeing together with guidance for textile printing are included. However the authors also show how natural dyes are now being utilised on an industrial scale and are becoming increasingly important as a source of renewable raw materials."--Publisher's website.

This book describes some 300 plants and 30 animals (marine mollusks and scale insects) that are used as sources for natural dyes. Botanical or zoological details are given for each source and the chemical structures is shown for each dye. Dyes employed by different civilisations, identified by dye analyses, are illustrated and relevant historical recipes and detailed descriptions of dyeing processes by traditional dyers are quoted and explained in the light of modern science. Other current uses of natural colorants, e.g. in medicine and for food and cosmetics, and replacement of synthetic by natural dyes are also noted.

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 awaits.