Clothing ourselves beautifully
Historically speaking, dye plants and medicinal herbs often overlapped. A prime example is yarrow, a plant that will dry wounds and halt bleeding, and that doubles as a yellow dye. As time progressed and aleopathic medicine came into precedence, many herbs lost favour as their benefits “had not been tested.” In herbalism, preparations often include […]
Once upon a time, and long, long ago, all fashion was sustainable. Now, the realm of sustainable fashion, and sustainable clothing, is a dark and dreary mire in which the unwary traveler could quickly lose their way (and their wallet). Not that there are any gentlemen of the road hanging around, but sometimes the marketing, […]
Winter and woolly sweaters just go together, like hot chocolate and cookies. But, sometimes caring for your winter woollens is a bit of a pain. Moths show up and create holes, nails or door handles catch and pull the knit, and sometimes the washer and dryer conspire together to reduce the sweater by several sizes. […]
The history of Woad is nearly as interesting and varied as the history of the color red. Blue is, to the full, as rare a color as red in the annals of natural dye use. In history, there are only four sources for a permanent natural blue dye, and there is only one molecule that […]
While woad is a beautiful and complex natural dye color, the plant itself has several prejudices against it. It is a vigorous plant, that will self-seed, and its healthy taproot can make it difficult to get rid of. At the same time, proper attention and precautions taken when growing the plant can prevent the vast […]
Some of the most enjoyable times I have spent with natural dyes, was when I was teaching adults and families how to successfully use natural dyes. Many families have children of varying ages, and it can be a challenge to decide what natural dyes are safest, and most enjoyable, for all present. For myself, I […]
