RE-ISSUE
Colours From Nature describes in full detail how to prepare and use natural dyes on a variety of fibres to produce a wide range of colours, following safe and environmentally-friendly methods.
The comprehensive recipe section gives instructions for over 100 colours, using both traditional dyes such as cochineal, indigo, madder and weld, and dyes from more common plants such as blackberry, rhubarb, oak and walnut.
Sept 09
Describes in full detail how to prepare and use natural dyes on a variety of fibres to produce a wide range of colours, following safe and environmentally friendly methods. The comprehensive recipe section gives instructions for over 100 colours, using both traditional dyes such as cochineal, indigo, madder and weld plus dyes from more common plants such as blackberry, rhubarb, oak and walnut.
* Machine Knitting Monthly *Issue 61
Hand dyed fabrics are gaining in popularity and with three decades of experience of dyeing, Jenny has produced a detailed account of all areas associated with the process. There are few illustrations here but this is really a book for the experimental dyer wishing to gain information and new recipes. With over 100 colours from nature, using both traditional dyes and then going on to common plants such as rhubarb, blackberry and oak, there is certainly a lot to be learned from this expert.
* Fabrications *Oct/Nov 09
This is a super little book full of practical information, and as it has been so popular Search Press Ltd. have re-issued it.
* Workbox *Oct 09
Tired of the limited choice given when choosing cloth for your next project, or even when perusing the commercial dyes available? Why not make your own dyes from natural materials, just like people have been doing for thousands of years? This was the way of dyeing all cloth until late Victorian times, and in these days when anything back to nature is popular it is once again an option. There are a lot of words in here and far fewer pictures than is usual for Search Press, but it is a big subject and needs plenty of space for discussion. I won't go into the technical details here, but the book certainly does, and when I actually sat down to read it I was impressed by the fact that it is not as obscure as I thought. Ms Dean explains it all rather well, from safety tips to mordanting, cleaning the fibers if you are really going all the way with real fleeces, etc. to testing for fastness. My tip is to sit down and just read it all before you actually do anything, absorbing all the new and unfamiliar information like cloth does a dye. I particularly liked the back section on making dye recipes, where the page edges are color coded for ease of use and the colors each recipe would produce on white cloth are shown. At the very back, along with a useful index, are further lists of plants you can use and the colors they produce, and a bibliography. For a small format book costing under GBP10 (or $20) this is quite an exhaustive volume.
* Myshelf.com *Feb 10
The Dyer's Handbook, re-issued from 2007. Jenny describes in detail how to prepare and use natural dyes on a variety of fibres to produce a wide range of colours, following safe and environmentally friendly methods. The comprehensive recipe section gives instructions for over 100 colours, using both traditional dyes such as cochineal, indigo, madder and weld as well as dyes from more common plants including blackberry, rhubarb, oak and walnut. Equipment and safety issues are covered as well as selecting and preparing materials for dyeing. Subjects include Mordanting, Extracting and Applying Dye Colour, Making and Using Colour Modifiers, Testing for Light and Wash Fastness, plus 49 pages of recipes.
* Sew Today *June 09
This book has been so popular that it has been re-issued. It describes, in full detail, how to prepare and use natural dyes on a variety of fibres to produce a wide range of colours, following safe and environmentally-friendly methods. The recipe section gives instructions for over 100 colours, using both traditional dyes such as cochineal, indigo, madder and weld plus dyes from more common plants such as blackberry, rhubarb, oak and walnut.
* Machine Knitting Monthly *Jenny Dean has been working with natural dyes for over 30 years. She lectures and runs courses and workshops on natural dyeing and has written widely on the subject. Her books include The Craft of Natural Dyeing and Wild Colour.
Preface
Introduction
Equipment and safety
Selecting and preparing materials for dyeing
Mordanting: Introduction; Using the percentage system for measuring; Manufactured chemicals and recipes; Making your own metallic mordant solutions; Plant mordants and recipes
Selecting and Applying Dye Colours: Introduction; Quantities; Extracting dye colour; Applying dye colour
General Instructions for Extracting and Applying Dye Colour
Making and Using Colour Modifiers
Testing for Colour Potential
Testing for Light- and Wash-fastness
Checklist of Important Reminders
Summary of Processes
Recipes: Yellow; Orange; Brown and tan; Red and pink; Purple; Blue; Green; Grey; Black; Compound colours
Using Natural Dye Extracts
Further Plant Sources of Dye Colour
Bibliography
Acknowledgements
Index