Colors: The Art and Craft of Natural Dyeing
J. N. Liles

Softcover $19.95
ISBN 0-87049-670-0
The University of Tennessee Press, 1990.
222 pages.

Back cover: "For several thousands of years, all dyes were of animal, vegetable, or mineral origin, and many ancient civilizations possessed excellent dye technologies. The first synthetic dye was produced in 1856, and the use of traditional dyes declined rapidly thereafter. By 1915 few non-synthetics were used by industry or craftspeople. The craft revivals of the 1920s explored traditional methods of natural dyeing to some extent, particularly with wool, although the great eighteenth- and nineteenth-century dye manuals, which recorded the older processes, remained larely forgotten.

In The Art and Craft of the Natural Dyeing, J. N. Liles consolidates the lore of the old dyers with his own first-hand experience to produce both a history of natural dyes and a practical manual for using pre-synthetic-era processes on all the natural fibers-cotton, linen, silk and wool. A general section on dyeing and mordanting and a glossary introduce the beginner to dye technology. In subsequent chapters, Liles summarizes the traditional dye methods available for each major color group. Scores of recipes provide detailed instructions on how to collect ingredients (flowers, weeds, insects, wood, minerals), prepare the dyevat, troubleshoot, and achieve specific shades.

The Author: J. N. Liles is professor of zoology at the University of Tenessee, Knoxville. He has taught at Arrowmont School and other regional craft schools and has exhibited his work at the Arrowmont School, the Southern Highland Handicraft Guild Folk Art Center, and the Carol Reeece Museum. "