Natural Kitchen Dyes
Make Your Own Dyes from Fruit, Vegetables, Herbs and Tea, Plus 12 Eco-Friendly Craft Projects
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- $13.99
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
“Hall digs into kitchen chemistry in this cozy guide to using plants to make dyes . . . This fun collection will be a valuable addition to any DIY library.” —Publishers Weekly
With Natural Kitchen Dyes you can explore the magical world of natural dyes, without the need of a garden full of dye plants. Our kitchens are a great source of natural dye colors, from vegetable peels that create blush pinks and peaches, fruit skins that make lemon yellows, a green dye sourced from carrot tops, dried spices, and used tea bags to create vibrant yellows, rich terracottas, and deep browns. Natural Kitchen Dyes takes you through the exciting process of creating these wonderful natural colors, dyeing fabric with the dyes, and suggests ingenious ways to get your hands on some natural dye sources. Accompanying the natural dye recipes in the book are ten environmentally conscious projects, which have been created not only to show off the natural dyes beautifully, but to help eliminate waste. Several of the projects actually utilise waste that would otherwise be composted or recycled such as old clothes turned into bags and patchwork floor cushions, to dried pulses past their expiration date used to make a beaded necklace.
“This is my sort of book: no need to start your adventure with a shopping expedition for ingredients—at least not to begin with—it’s all there in the kitchen for a safe, spur-of-the-moment indulgence.” —The Journal for Weavers, Spinners & Dyers
“Hall outlines a kid-friendly craft that just might engage adults too.” —Booklist
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Hall (Seasonal Plant Dyes) digs into kitchen chemistry in this cozy guide to using plants to make dyes. She begins with advice on sourcing materials in low-cost, eco-friendly ways, such as enlisting friends to save food scraps and reaching out to local farmers. Hall then describes various fabric types (natural fibers derived from animals make for the most vibrant colors) and tools (most of which can be found in the kitchen). She shows how to color fabric with avocado skins for a peach tint, carrot tops for green, and turmeric for yellow, and there are tricks for using dyes for printing, too. Then come the projects: there's an avocado-dyed, upcycled T-shirt bag; home-dyed patchwork jeans; and a sewn floor cushion readers can color-customize. Most are suitable for beginners, but a few, such as the purple and tan raffia basket, may require crafters to seek out extra instruction. Each item is accompanied by vivid photos, and there are lots of tips to keep things moving: cloth dyed with hibiscus tea, for example, will change to a grayish-purple after it's washed because of its pH sensitivity. This fun collection will be a valuable addition to any DIY library.