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knitdyeread's review
4.0
I received this as a gift from my friend Natalie. I've been meaning to learn more about natural dyeing and this is the time of year to start planning our balcony garden, so this is a timely book to receive for Christmas.
Buchanan breaks everything down in to simple steps--mordant the yarn, gather the plants, make the dye liquor, dye the plants. Nothing to it. Each plant discussed has pictures of swatches of that plant used with different mordants. Alum used with marigolds gives one color, chrome gives another, etc. There are at least 6 different options for each plant. The book itself is a good size to throw in a glove box or back pocket. Handy if you're out exploring and find some wildflowers that can be used for dyeing.
Overall I think the book is interesting and a handy reference for what certain dyes look like on different fibers with different mordants, but growing my own dyes probably isn't for me. It takes a LOT of plants to have enough dye for one project.
Buchanan breaks everything down in to simple steps--mordant the yarn, gather the plants, make the dye liquor, dye the plants. Nothing to it. Each plant discussed has pictures of swatches of that plant used with different mordants. Alum used with marigolds gives one color, chrome gives another, etc. There are at least 6 different options for each plant. The book itself is a good size to throw in a glove box or back pocket. Handy if you're out exploring and find some wildflowers that can be used for dyeing.
Overall I think the book is interesting and a handy reference for what certain dyes look like on different fibers with different mordants, but growing my own dyes probably isn't for me. It takes a LOT of plants to have enough dye for one project.
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