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Medieval Dyes
The perfect dyebook for historical reenactors.
Get authentic, bright colors on wool, cotton, linen, and silk.
Contains
Discussion of 48 historical dyestuffs
Thirty-six natural dye recipes, tested by the author
Results of the author’s lightfastness tests
Recipes for scouring fibers
Updated recipes for mordanting before or after dyeing
Safety advice
Discussion of 24 chemicals used in dyeing (What is the difference between “potash” and “pearl ash”?)
Conversions between traditional “English” and metric units
Index of dyestuffs by common names and by scientific names
Annotated bibliography of over 50 sources for further study
Fun facts (The Romans used walnut husks as a hair dye. “Alizarin”, a pigment found in madder root, is named after the Persian word for madder dye, “al lizari”.)
22 black and white illustrations, by the late C. Ellen Young
1 color photo
Get authentic, bright colors on wool, cotton, linen, and silk.
Contains
Discussion of 48 historical dyestuffs
Thirty-six natural dye recipes, tested by the author
Results of the author’s lightfastness tests
Recipes for scouring fibers
Updated recipes for mordanting before or after dyeing
Safety advice
Discussion of 24 chemicals used in dyeing (What is the difference between “potash” and “pearl ash”?)
Conversions between traditional “English” and metric units
Index of dyestuffs by common names and by scientific names
Annotated bibliography of over 50 sources for further study
Fun facts (The Romans used walnut husks as a hair dye. “Alizarin”, a pigment found in madder root, is named after the Persian word for madder dye, “al lizari”.)
22 black and white illustrations, by the late C. Ellen Young
1 color photo
Kindle Edition
First published March 1, 2003
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7 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 20, 2020
A Great Reference and Historical Overview
Only a few paragraphs in and I’m already enthralled by the historical details. It’s easy to tell that what I’m reading is actually the abstract of possibly years of deep study. At one point, a few simple bullet points encapsulate decades of history and reams of information. It is written on the scholastic level, but in simple English, including information and history on each plant and tests that the dyer ran on each. The author even ran lightfastness tests, which I have not seen in other books so far. This is a great reference work or study for the historically inclined, but the Dyer who wishes to learn by experience may wish to save this book for later reference. Latin names for plants and chemical compounds are referenced, and there is even a compendium of weight translations for all the dyer’s useful chemicals. There are pages and pages of references at the end of the book; you could probably spend quite a long time reading from those as well, and they attest to the hard work and deep research that went into this book.
Only a few paragraphs in and I’m already enthralled by the historical details. It’s easy to tell that what I’m reading is actually the abstract of possibly years of deep study. At one point, a few simple bullet points encapsulate decades of history and reams of information. It is written on the scholastic level, but in simple English, including information and history on each plant and tests that the dyer ran on each. The author even ran lightfastness tests, which I have not seen in other books so far. This is a great reference work or study for the historically inclined, but the Dyer who wishes to learn by experience may wish to save this book for later reference. Latin names for plants and chemical compounds are referenced, and there is even a compendium of weight translations for all the dyer’s useful chemicals. There are pages and pages of references at the end of the book; you could probably spend quite a long time reading from those as well, and they attest to the hard work and deep research that went into this book.
January 15, 2021
Excellent
Excellent manual on dyeing! Straight to the point and very informative. Read it for free, now I need to order a copy.
Excellent manual on dyeing! Straight to the point and very informative. Read it for free, now I need to order a copy.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews