Natural Kitchen Dyes by Hall, Alicia

Natural Kitchen Dyes

by Hall, Alicia

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 colours, 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 colours, 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.

Reviewed by annieb123 on

4 of 5 stars

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Originally posted on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

Natural Kitchen Dyes is a primer and tutorial guide for organic plant based dyes written and curated by Alicia Hall. Due out 31st March 2022 from Pen & Sword on their White Owl imprint, it's 152 pages and will be available in paperback and ebook formats.

The book is presented in a sensible progression, with chapters flowing naturally into one another: gathering (potentially large amounts of) dye materials, choosing fabrics, necessary tools and supplies, mordanting with soya milk, colourfastness, the actual dyeing process, surface printing and inks, and tutorial projects. Readers should be aware that the information contained in the chapters is broad in scope, but very short on actual concrete tips and usable facts. It would be quite difficult, I think, to take this book as a total beginner and have enough information to make colorants and dye fabric without having other resources or a teacher available.

The pictures are appealing and restful. The author emphasizes safety and (where applicable) organic and easily sourced ingredients. The included projects are very simple and most are appealing. Natural dyeing is an experimental and experiential craft. It is almost impossible to get consistent results and the author's writing style goes with that flow. The projects (to me) have a very hippy-style earthy vibe and will appeal to readers who enjoy a more natural decor. The included lunch bag/cutlery roll tutorials are wonderful and very versatile. Full size templates are included in the book.

The book doesn't include an index or links for further reading, or a bibliography. The measurements included in the tutorials are in standard (metric) measures. There is no conversion tool in the book. Text and spelling are UK/standard English and shouldn't be problematic in context for readers in the USA.

I loved the easy and accessible prose and the lovely clear pictures. Four stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 22 March, 2022: Finished reading
  • 22 March, 2022: Reviewed