Evidence of humans weaving cloth can be found dating as far back as over 20,000 years ago. As a species, we’ve been finding ways to twist, knot, and otherwise connect strands of fiber for a very long time. Weaving is only one of those techniques, but it’s an important one. There’s no single way to […]
What is a dye? A dye is a colored substance that chemically bonds to the substrate to which it is being applied. Dyes change the color of fiber in a way that resists fading from washing, rubbing, and light. Some examples of natural dyes include: While these dyes have all be used for thousands of
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While modern media often portrays the past as being a time of muddy colored clothing, and extant textiles are often darkened by time and low saturation in appearance, a closer look at the evidence suggests history was far more colorful. Research has been done into the use of textile dyes across many times and places,
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While some natural dyes give beautiful, lasting results all by themselves, most benefit from the use of a mordant. Some dye and fiber combinations really need a mordant to get any notable amount of color. Other dyes may not need a mordant to bind to a fiber, but give a much more brightly colored result
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