Wild Color: The Complete Guide to Making and Using Natural Dyes

Amazingly instructive book with well compiled detailed information on everything you need to know re natural dyeing from plants. Encyclopaedic in its value on the clear instructions on processes, mordants, Dye recipes etc. Beautiful functional illustrations from a master of her art. Jenny Dean is a guru of dyeing from nature.

I love this book. It is easy to read with clear instructions. I am a novice dyer with a lot to learn but with enough experience to know natural colours can vary wildly so colour swatches can be a guide only. The book certainly sets the creative juices flowing and every time i pick it up i start buzzing with new ideas i want to try. It is inspirational. Highly recommended.

This is such a lovely book! Well set out, clear information and beautiful photos throughout. My only slight quibble is that I would rather the plants had been set out according to their common names rather than their Latin ones. Otherwise fantastic !! I guess my Latin will improve too :-)

Totally brilliant book. The instructions are clear and easy to follow, the pictures are beautiful and there are clear guidelines to what results you can expect to get from using the different plants and methods. I'd say this is a good book for beginners, but I know that even as I progress with dyeing, it will be my favourite 'go to' book. It makes great bedtime reading too as you can just browse the sections and get lost in all those lovely colours :D

This is a very informative book on using natural dyes. It's set out logically and clearly, and has both useful and lovely photographs. It fell short for me because my intention is to use all natural products when dyeing cloth. To be fair, the title does say 'using natural dyes', rather than '100% natural dying'. Also, the author certainly does cover using natural mordants and gives enough information to get started. Using natural dyes but also other chemicals is still a better ecological choice than using chemical dyes. I have no problem with those choosing this method. I just really wanted, and thought it was, a book on all natural dying - from start to finish. If a book focuses on that, it has the room to add much more detail and advice. This one shares it's space with chemicals, so much of it was of no use, and I was left with many questions. The second section is devoted to specific plants and the colours we can achieve. Nicely set out and very clear. For me, I would have preferred less on cultivation (I have enough gardening books) and more on the dyeing procedure. Still, a really handy reference. Lovely book, 4 stars, I do recommend it, just be aware of how 'natural' it is and isn't.

There is so much expertise contained in this book. Personally I work with the Sacred Trees of Britain and am interested to see some of them included here - birch, apple, rowan, elder, ivy, heather, alder, hawthorn, juniper, blackthorn, oak , bramble, elm, willow, cherry, ash - so I can experiment with creating dyed fabrics for ritual purposes, and delight in another gift from the trees.

Absolutely wonderful book from which I have learned a great deal. I have now dyed many beautiful skeins of handspun wool and knitted a baby blanket for my first grandchild, full of the colours of nature! Can't put the book down, it is a thing of beauty in itself.

Having done a natural dyeing course, this book adds a whole level of knowledge to taking the processes further. Well illustrated and lots of insight to natural dyeing. Lots of recipes to try out.

Great photographs of both the plants used for dyeing and the colourful results that can be achieved with them. This is a great reference work, particularly for northern hemisphere plants although there are some southern hemisphere plants included as well. Useful addition to your dyeing library.

Wild Color is the best book for learning and using basic recipes for preparing various materials for dye. The book covers quite a few types of plant materials (leaves, roots, stems) and the expected colors you may achieve if you process the materials alone, and new shades with various mordants. Dean lays out the book with an easy to read key with color examples. You will lean the basic recipes at the start, and the dye pages are organized by the plant. It includes shades you can achieve based on the part of the plant, and where applicable, the season you collect the material. The pages for each plant also discuss cultivation, where the plant can be grown, how to harvest and process along with the handy color guide for what your dye will yield depending on your preparation on the dye material. A must have book. Hang on to it and don't lend it out because you'll never get it back. :-)

Precioso libro!!!!!!!

Très contente de mon achat.

If you've ever wanted to try eco-dying but didn't know where to start, this is a great resource. The book has clear explanations (and photos) of the use of mordants; how to prep the material to be dyed; an indication of the color you will get given the mordant used; and the dying techniques that can be used for each material/dye medium. It is the most comprehensive resource I have seen.