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Dyes and Pigmentation of Period Textiles (Sources)
Ian:
A question about dying came up in a topic on Wool, and I didn't have an answer at the time, but since then I've found some good resources on dying and thought I would give it its own topic to make it more easily available. Yes, I realize this topic will cause 99% of the our readership's eyes to glaze over... :) These two books were recommended to me and I obtained a copy of each and they do not disappoint:
Dye Plants and Dyeing
A Dyer's Garden
The books are not specific to the Medieval Period, but they are detailed enough to let you know which plants would have been available to Medieval Europeans and thus which colors would be appropriate. For example, plants native only to the New World that yield unique colors would be inappropriate for pigment use in a Medieval European textiles. These books go in depth on pigment derived from different plants, and the colors they will yield on different fibers and even show examples of how soaking time will affect the depth of color.
Patrick and William, as per our recent discussions on the depth of the bottomless rabbit hole, you know you've gone deep when you're worried about period specific pigments in your clothing choices ;) Scott, I hope you see this topic, and hope it gives you a better answer to the question you posed a few months ago.
Note that Medieval dyes were not limited to plants. Minerals, animals, metals etc were all used for production of pigment as well.
Here are some available web translations of Medieval dye manuals:
14th C - Innsbruck Manuscript
15th C - Segreti Per Colori
--- Quote from: scott2978 on 2014-10-27, 19:19:06 ---Also could I ask if you could recommend a reading source on medieval dyes? I understand the techniques used but not really the pigments themselves. Could be supply, sumptuary, cultural, religious or other reasons for certain colors over others in different periods and locations, and it's an area I could use more knowledge of.
Scott
--- End quote ---
Sir Patrick:
--- Quote from: Ian on 2015-06-24, 01:48:12 --- Patrick and William, as per our recent discussions on the depth of the bottomless rabbit hole, you know you've gone deep when you're worried about period specific pigments in your clothing choices ;)
--- End quote ---
And oddly enough I was researching dyes last night in order to determine which colors to use on some tunics I'm getting ready to make. ::)
Mike W.:
And oddly enough for me, I've been having an urge lately to try my hand at medieval dying techniques
Sir Rodney:
Dyeing your own fabrics is cool.
Dyeing your own fabrics with natural materials is hard core.
Boiling your own urine for "Innsbruck black" is cause for concern. ;)
Sir Patrick:
--- Quote from: Sir Rodney on 2015-06-24, 04:10:15 ---Dyeing your own fabrics is cool.
Dyeing your own fabrics with natural materials is hard core.
Boiling your own urine for "Innsbruck black" is cause for concern. ;)
--- End quote ---
What about posting a pick of the new braies you just made for a bunch of dudes on the Internet? ;)
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