Natural Kitchen Dyes: Make Your Own Dyes from Fruit, Vegetables, Herbs and Tea, Plus Ten Eco-Friendly Craft Projects (Crafts)

I really wanted to love this book, but there are areas that are lacking super important details. I mean, I love to experiment, but if I just wanted to throw things in a pot and see what happens, I wouldn't buy a book to guide me.For example, that gorgeous raffia basket (the reason I bought the book) in the projects... She just says "dye the raffia," but raffia isn't one of the materials she covers early (or anywhere) in the book, so I have no idea how to actually do it. Does it need a soymilk pre-treatment? Does it need a mordant? How long do I simmer or soak it (at least using the dyestuff she's using in the project)? Who knows?In the types of modifiers, she tells you what the main types are and has a bunch of photos, but they're not labeled. I mean, you know that the 9 swatches in the one photo were treated with citric acid, but you have NO idea what they were DYED with, what concentration of citric acid- NOTHING. She then goes on to include a two-page spread (pgs. 96-97) that says "The addition of modifiers means 50 colours can be created from just 10 different natural dyes." Again- NO LABELS. So you're looking at 50 swatches with no idea what was used to dye them NOR what was used to modify them! It's like....whaaaaaaa? It almost reminds me of a teaser that people show you on their website to try to get you to buy the course so that you'll learn how to achieve those effects. Except, you've actually already bought the book, so why is the author withholding the information??Again in the projects- she tells you what dyes were used on a list, but strangely, the colors in her example don't always match what she's told/shown you are the colors you'll get with those plants. Like the chickpea necklace- none of the dyes she lists make that gorgeous yellow in her example (according to the dye information pages for those plants).I really really want to love this book, but these are dealbreakers as far as I'm concerned.

I have been natural or Eco dyeing for years, and always love it when I find a new book of dyeing. This one is very, very good, the information is excellent and to the point - easy to read and understand. As for the photographs, they are stunning. The chapters are divided into area of -Collection, Fabric, Tools, Soya Milk Color fast & Ph Sensitivity dyes, Dye basics, Dye Recipes, Ink and Printing, Modifiers and Other Dyes. There are also some projects at the end to use the dyed fabric for.This is a great book for both beginners and experienced dyers. Dyeing is so much fun, the results always magic, and with natural dyes very friendly to people and envioromentI recommend this book very strongly..

This book has lots of good information; while at the same time, there are areas that need more information in order to be complete.

I think you can do much better with a different book. This one seems to be thrown together without much editorial oversight or consultation with a dye chemist. The organization of the text could be greatly improved, as could the discussion of dye chemistry. It is clear that Alicia Hall doesn't know much about silk. The recipes here are for tiny lengths of fabric. Most of the projects are not attractive.First about the silk. I happen to know a lot about silk, having traded in it for a very long time, and I know some very famous professional silk weavers. I also know people who teach natural dying and who use natural dyes on silk and other fibres in their artwork. So my sources are very good.On page 24 (of the ARC) we read that raw silk is created by allowing the silkworm to break its way out of its silk cocoon naturally and that raw silk's textured surface results from the silk fibres are broken as the silkworm escapes.This is completely wrong, although you might be able to see where the misinformation comes from. Do a web search "what is raw silk". When I did it the other day (but not today) the very first entry gave that false info, followed by other entries that correctly identify raw silk as silk that has not been treated to remove sericin, the gummy protein that holds the cocoon together while the silkworm pupates. Silk from ruptured cocoons is something else entirely. And all silk is lustrous including raw silk, although the luster is different.Sericin is removed by washing in soap, and the artist decides which soap to use and how much sericin to remove. Fibres with more sericin are thicker and the silk woven from them is slightly coarser, but not necessarily more slubby. Artists may sometimes want uneven texture and will handle the fibres accordingly. Fibres with more sericin take up dye differently from well-cleaned fibres. Different strains of silkmoth produce longer or shorter fibres for their cocoons. When the fibres are short, more of them must be twisted together to make yarn and the resulting yarn is thicker and more textured as each of the end overlaps is a thick spot with two ends tucked in somewhere.Ms Hall writes of silk and wool as being delicate fabrics. Silk is not particularly delicate. It is boiled during production and plain silk fabric is unaffected by heat. You can wash and dry it by machine to make it wonderfully soft. Linings, art from special loom techniques, embroidery, and various colorations, though, may not be sturdy and must be protected.Wool fibres have cuticle, not follicles (p 56). Follicles are part of the sheep's skin.Beetroot is listed in several places as a fugitive color but also on page 44 as a pH sensitive anthocyanin dye, which, in theory, should be colorfast. Beetroot is perhaps a fugitive pH sensitive anthocyanin color but it is not clear from the text. The discussion of anthocyanin and pH sensitive dye is insufficient.I find most of the projects distressingly ugly.There is better info than this online and there are better books to be had. Don't bother with this one.I received a review copy of "Natural Kitchen Dyes" by Alicia Hall from Pen and Sword through NetGalley.com.

A great book that is informative and inspiring, has some projects in it too