Author Ruth Issett is one of the world's leading colourist in textile art today. Her stunning colour combinations defy colour rules and she shows you how to experiment with techniques to get the very best out of any textile work. The book is aimed at all those involved in textiles – embroiderers, patchworkers and textile decorators, as well as students and teachers of design. Lavishly illustrated with colour photographs of finished fabrics, this simple colour ‘recipe’ book gives guidance and reassurance on the technical aspects of colour and dyeing. It includes: • How to dye different natural fabrics, including heavy cotton, silk, satin, linen, and cotton velvet as well as threads • Colour mixing and inspiration: colour combinations; tones, tints, shades; complementary schemes • Detailed guidance on the dyeing processes, including equipment, shades, colour families, over-dyeing, pre-treatment of fabric, and fabric types • Ways of applying dye from the very, very simple onwards • Techniques, including the various types of resists as well as discharge and bleached effects • Advanced techniques and combinations, including the use of thickeners and over-dyeing !-- about the author --

The essence of plants bursts forth in magnificent hues and surprising palettes. Using dyes of the leaves, roots, and flowers to color your cloth and yarn can be an amazing journey into botanical alchemy. In Eco Colour, artistic dyer and colorist India Flint teaches you how to cull and use this gentle and ecologically sustainable alternative to synthetic dyes. India explores the fascinating and infinitely variable world of plant color using a wide variety of techniques and recipes. From whole-dyed cloth and applied color to prints and layered dye techniques, India describes only ecologically sustainable plant-dye methods. She uses renewable resources and shows how to do the least possible harm to the dyer, the end user of the object, and the environment. Recipes include a number of entirely new processes developed by India, as well as guidelines for plant collection, directions for the distillation of nontoxic mordants, and methodologies for applying plant dyes. Eco Colour inspires both the home dyer and textile professional seeking to extend their skills using India's successful methods.

The colour and shade of dyed textiles were once as much an indicator of social class or position as the fabric itself and for centuries the recipes used by dyers were closely guarded secrets. The arrival of synthetic dyestuffs in the middle of the nineteenth century opened up a whole rainbow of options and within 50 years modern dyes had completely overturned the dyeing industry. From pre-history to the current day, the story of dyed textiles in Western Europe brings together the worlds of politics, money, the church, law, taxation, international trade and exploration, fashion, serendipity and science. This book is an introduction to a broad, diverse and fascinating subject of how and why people coloured textiles. A fresh review of this topic, this book brings previous scholars' work to light, alongside new discoveries and research.

Do you love plants? Do you love crafting? Would you like to dye your own fabric, yarn or clothing? Learn the relaxing art of botanical dyeing with natural dyer, Rebecca Desnos. Connect with nature and open your eyes to the colour potential of plants. Discover how to: produce a wide palette of colours, including pink from avocados, yellow from pomegranates and coral from eucalyptus leaves; extract dye from just about any plant from the kitchen, garden or wild; use the ancient method of soya milk mordanting to achieve rich and long-lasting colour on plant fibres, such as cotton and linen; produce reliable colours that withstand washing and exposure to light.