Malin Berglund Has written an excellent article on coloring from the 600s to the 1600s. Many thanks to Malin Berglund / Felicitas Schwarzenbergin for contributing the text! Malin's blog which previously has many other interesting articles you can find here; http://bippimalin.livejournal.com/14083.html

Landauerschen Stiftungsbuch Nürnberg Stadtbibliothek, c. 1500.

 

The art of dyeing fabrics has many thousands of years on its neck. Already in the Old Testament it is mentioned blue, purple and scarlet red, most likely with regard to the colors obtained from two different shells in the Mediterranean and the kermel shell.

Despite modern fantasies that people wore "unpainted" clothes, even as very poor people could get a little different shades on their fabrics, mainly yellow and yellow-brown. It is rather with the color strength that you indicate social differences because the stronger the color you have, the more of the product has gone to color and the more expensive the finished material becomes.

  The hardness also comes into play here, the more light and rub-resistant the more expensive the finished product became. But it is also completely medieval to have "pastel colors" as the shades are colored after the more expensive fabrics have been saturated with strong rich colors. You did not throw the dye bath because it gave pink and no red anymore, it would hardly be economical to do so. However, note that black in itself is not necessarily an expensive shade, it is rather what is in the color bath and the shade of black that determines the cost.

Blue has been claimed by some to be a "cheap" color, but it is far from the truth. For example, there is a snuff since the 14th century blue velvet preserved at V&A (inventory no: T.194-1911) which has been part of a very expensive altar cloth. The cultivation of weed, which gives a blue color, has been major national exports for France and Germany and has generated a lot of money for both countries. Blue painters were skilled professionals and sometimes had their own section within the color guilds because it was such a specialized approach unlike the other plant dyes.

This is because tinting refers to dyeing where the dye is not soluble in water but must be dissolved chemically, introduced into the fiber and brought back to the insoluble form to give color. Proper cypress recipes shine with their absence in the documents that I have been able to read, the worst blue color recipes that are included have recipes that use a residual product of dye coloring. It was not until 1667 that a real recipe was written down in The Wole Art of Dyeing.

Liber de natura rerum,  - 1482 You can also not just dip in the fabric in the dye bath and expect it to get any color, almost all colors require grazing the yarn, that is, affecting the adhesive ability of the colors by treating the yarn with metal salts, acids or tannins. The most common of these is aluminum sulphate alum, which has been known and used for plant dyeing for at least 2000 years. Iron sulphate and copper sulphate have also been used.

Another modern myth is that it was not possible or that you could not dye linen cloth in the Middle Ages and that is why the linen was white. What many do not understand is that the natural color of the linen is not white, the linen has been treated to become pale and turn white. Dyes do not attach as easily to flax as to wool, which is true, but it is possible to dye linen fabric, however, it is usually not as hardy as animal fibers. The trick is to gall the material. Linen (and cotton) consists of cellulose that alum does not adhere to unless the material is boiled with tannins of any kind, mainly gall apples because they do not stain the material. The first definitive mention of galling I have seen so far is in A Profitable Booke from 1580-1605.

But already in Stockholm papyrus (300s) there is a reference that the color bath in question colors linen fabric (red and purple). Fourteen hundreds of manuscripts Segreti per colori give a recipe for dyeing linen (green, red and purple) and already in the preface to Allerley mackel (1532) it says that there are recipes on how to dye linen (blue and brown). In Secrets of Master Alexis Piemonte (1580) there are also three recipes for dyeing linen (brown and 2 blue). A Profitable Booke mentioned above (1580-1605) has a full 17 recipes for dyeing linen fabric (5 red, pink, 2 black, carnation red, blood red, rosy, orange red, crimson, 2 gray, blue and golden yellow).

bible at Holkham House, Norfolk mitten av 1300taletThis is far from all the subjects used to dye fabrics, but rather the ones that I have had the opportunity to find information on. I have divided the plant substances loosely according to the basic colors the substances provide in order to perhaps give a clearer picture of the nuance richness that one could achieve. Some dyes can be given different colors depending on the pH value and heat. The first name in bold is in modern Swedish, then follows older Swedish names where appropriate, the Latin art name is italicized followed by the English name and various other languages ​​I found. I have loosely divided the substances into different basic colors, these basic colors could also be mixed together either directly in the dye bath or by dipping the material once in one color and then in another color giving more or less an infinite number of shades. Mixing in this way when colored was in use already during Pliny's time. Often they were under-colored with a cheaper color to then give the material a last dip in a more expensive color. Red brazil is a material that is often used in this way.

All color manuscripts I have read so far are available at: http://www.elizabethancostume.net/dyes/

Purple

Murex
tyric purple, Red colors: Phyllonotus fire fris, Murex firearis, Bolinus fire fries, Red and blue colors: Phyllonotus trunculus, Murex trunculus, Hexaplex trunculus (Latin names of species), Tyrian purple, Royal purple (English), sarranus (purplish) ), tekhelet, argaman (Hebrew for blue and red purple)
Color: 6,6'-dibromo-indigo (dark blue-red) C16H8Br2N2O2 and indigotine (blue) C16H10N2O2

A shell found in the Mediterranean, but colorful relatives to it are in the still and the Indian Ocean. The shells were harvested in the early fall and early spring when Sirius rises above the horizon.

Concordantiae caritatis (Stiftsbibliothek Lilienfeld 151, fol. 224v), c. 1349-1351The color that was most valuable because it went through so many shells and it was such a cumbersome procedure to produce it as it was a tipping color. During experiments in the early 1900s, it was found that about 12,000 shells are needed to produce 1.4 grams of the dye. As early as 2500 BC it was used on the Minos culture in Crete. Its heyday was when the Phoenicians learned to extract the color, Phoinike derives from the Greek word for blood red = phoinos. According to those who have been there, the stands in Tire in Lebanon are still full of shattered seashells from over a thousand years of work to produce this color.

Not in the medieval period but well worth mentioning, is that in Mexico there is an Native American tribe that has come to the point that you do not need to kill the shells to get the color and colors in that way only certain months of the year so as not to damage the ecosystem so the shells thrive unlike the Mediterranean where they became almost extinct.

At times the color has been reserved for kings, hence the name royal purple. However, there seems to be some confusion as to exactly which kings it is that has commanded this, both Roman, Byzantine and Anglican have been cited as the basis for this. However, as far as I know, there have been no such restrictions other than financials during the earlier part of the Middle Ages.

The knowledge of making this color was lost as Constantinople fell to the Turks in 1453, but already 638 when Tire was captured by the Arabs much of the export industry disappeared.

However, not a single shade was intended, it was not even close to what we today call purple. Already Pliny describes how to obtain a dark burgundy shade which was considered to be the same color as blood that has recently shed (purple leaf) but also a more bluish shade (purpura hyacinthina) is mentioned. Purpura blata was certainly also the favorite color of the Spartans to wear in battle as blood did not appear on the already blood-colored fabric. On the other hand, the Spartan women were forbidden to wear purple, which made the bunnies haunt themselves, which resulted in the most popular prostitutes in Sparta wearing clothes that could make kings jealous.

Interestingly enough, from the 17th and 18th centuries, England and Ireland have written down how they caught purple shells and extracted the color in the same way as the Mexican Indians I mentioned above.

Orselj
Rocella genus (Latin species name), orchil (modern English), archill, orchel, orchella (old English) oricello (old Italian), orciglia, orciglio, orchilla (Spanish), urzella, urzela (Portuguese), persio, persis (German) ), orseille, orchal, orelle (French)
Color: orcein C28H24N2O7

A lichen that gives pink, red-purple and purple colors after being fermented in urine for a few weeks. It grows both in Europe and in North America and has been known to provide purple hues already in Pliny's time. It was then used to give a base color which was then over-colored with the much more expensive Turkish purple color. Later used to give purple shades of red. However, has a low hardness.

Orcein of varying degrees can also be obtained from Umbilicaria, Xanthoria, Evernia, Usnea, the Ramalina genera and Lecanora calcarea.

Alkanna
Alkanna tinctoria (Latin species name), alkanet (English), alcaneta (Old Spanish), alchanna (medieval Latin), alhinna (Arabic)
Color: Alkannin C10H9NOS

Mentioned in Leyden papyrus and Stockholm papyrus from the 300s as a dye for coloring purple and red. Henna used to dye red orange hair contains alkannin.

Blue brazil
Brown brazil, kampesch tree, blue wood, blue holtz (older Swedish), Haematoxylum campechianum (Latin species name), logwood, campechewood (English), legno tauro, campeggio (old Italian)
Color: Hematoxylin C16H14O6

Found in 1517 and imported from the city of Campeche on the Yucatan Peninsula by the Spaniards and later by the British from Belize. You use the kernel that came to Europe in the form of logs, the plant is related to the pea plants. Between 1581 and 1662 the paint was forbidden to use in England. During the latter part of the 17th century when it was used in England, the kernel could cost a hundred pounds sterling per tonne.

Provides very purple / purple shades in acidic baths, more brown or rusty shades in basic color baths, does not have very good hardness.

But they have also sought cheaper ways to make purple. All manuscripts on the website above, except Innsbruck, have recipes on how to dye purple with materials other than murex. There are also examples in A profitable book (1580-1605) where pomegranate peel and orange peel (if I interpret the text correctly) give a "sad purple color". There is also a recipe for silk using "two pounds of purple color" which does not further specify what that color consists of.

And it is actually also quite possible to dip the fabric in red and then in blue or vice versa to get a purple / purple color, in 14th century Venice this kind of color was known as paonazzo. In the same city, during the 16th century, kermes were over-dyed with orange and indigo a color called fior de lino (flax flower) and dark indigo over-colored with a little red gave the color colombino for the reminder of the color of a pigeon's neck.

RED

Kermes
Mediterranean varieties: Coccus ilcis, Kermes ilcis, Kermes vermilio, Kermes biblicus, Kermes spatulatus (Latin species name) Kermes (modern English), grain, grayne (old English), graines de vermillon, (French), grana di vermiglione, grana, ( Italian), coccum, granum, vermiculus (Latin)

Eastern species: Porphyrophora Hameli, Porphyrophora polonica

(Latin species name), kermés, alkermés (French), cremisi (Italian), tolate, tolaat (Hebrew), al qirmiz (Arabic), kirmiz , ceramics (Persian), krmi (Sanskrit)
Color: of grain = kermesin C16H10O8, of kermes = carmine C22H20O13 and kermesin

A shield where the pregnant females give the color, those who live on oaks around the Mediterranean are called confusing enough grain in contemporary literature but those who come from Poland, Prussia, Sachen, Lithuania, Anatolia and the Caucasus are called kermes. Those from the eastern states live on the roots of the Knavel plant while the others live on different grasses. They are harvested during the month of May and killed with the help of vinegar. Between 50000 and 60000 insects consumed one kilo of grain or kermes.

In Venice until the late 1300s, only grain is mentioned, then kermes begin to be mentioned. Grain was a more turquoise hue, but kermes gave a more purple hue that was stronger and less prone to bleaching. Kermes was therefore the more expensive. In 14th century Venice, the kermes and grain colors were two separate departments within the color shade.

Since 1464, Kermes was used as the official color for the Cardinals' costume as the purple trade ceased. Kermes were imported from the Orient via Venice and grain from Southwestern Europe via Marseille

Koschenill
, conventional, Spanish red, Dactylopius coccus cacti (Latin species name), cochineal (English), cochinilla, grana (Spanish), koschenille (German), cochenille (French) , cocoiglia, uchimillia, panucho, also Indian kermes and Spanish kermes (old Italian), yang hung (foreign red - mandarin), nocheztli, nochezli (Aztec),
Color: Karmin C22H20O13 or E 120

A shellfish where the pregnant females give the color, they live on Opuntia and Nopalea cacti, originally from Mexico and South America but are now grown commercially in the Canary Islands. Harvested 2 to 4 times a year. Depending on how the insects have been killed, they have different colors, those that have been sun-dried are silvery and have been considered to give the best color, those that are black-brown have been roasted on plates over fire. Used in Mexico for over 2000 years. Imported to Europe from Mexico by the Spaniards since 1526. It was more expensive to buy it in the form of barley, if they were powdered, traders could mix flour and the like to dry out the precious dye. In the beginning, when the Koschenil was introduced, many colors were skeptical of the dye precisely because it had been mixed in various ways and one could not expect a consistent staining between the times.

Carmine red is the Swedish word for the color, but you get different shades depending on the pH value of the color bath. Nowadays, koschenill is used for make-up, pastries and in medicines and it is precisely the fact that it is cheaper to make using mashed lice than synthetic that has made the koschenill lice survived. The lice are severely bred and extremely tricky with their living conditions, without man's interest in cultivating it it dies out.

Crab
, Rubia tinctorum, Rubia cordifola, Rubia peregina, Galium Boreale, Galium triandrum (Latin species name), madder (English), maedre (old English), robbia, granzoli, roza (old Italian), rubia (latin)
Dyestuff: Alizarin C14H8O4 Purpurin C14H8O5 and Pseudopurpurin, Rubiadin and Munjistin depending on the type of scrap used. There are also some yellow dyes.

A perennial plant related to madras and gulls where the root is the colorful part. The soil that the plant has grown into plays a big role for the result, the lighter the soil it grows on, the more dye there is in the roots. Industrially grown in France as early as the 8th century, during the Middle Ages cultivated in Zeeland in the Netherlands. In Sweden, white and color gulls have been used (the Galium plants).

The colors you get vary based on the pH value and the temperature of the color bath between brown, rust colored, orange, tomato red, blood red and the red color known as Turkish red.

This plant and its related less forgiving pursuits are found throughout Europe, Asia and America. Has been used at least since the 1750s BC in Pakistan, 1500 BC in Egypt and eventually in Europe.

Red Brazil
, Fernbuck, Fernambok, Fernambuco, Pernumbuck, Redwood, Martyrs, Redwoods (older Swedish), Caesalpinia echinata, Caesalpinia sapan, Caesalpinia brasiliensis (Latin species name), brazilwood, old English (old English), sapanwood (modern English) old Italian), rotholtz (German)
Color: Brazil C16H14O5

A genus of trees related to pea plants, only the corewood gives color.

Originally imported from China and India via the Arab world and Venice. Called brasil in texts from the Provence of the 13th century. The dye is named after the red color of the wood, bonfire = glowing coal, and gave the country Brazil its name. Brazil was also the largest exporter from the 16th century onwards from the city of Pernambuco.

Yellow and brown

Yellow is a color that is a bit stiffly treated, there just seems to be not much information about it in plant dyeing literature, most of which I have found is in the chemistry context.

Yellow, beige and light brown shades are easily obtained, which is the most common color in that almost all plants give such shades when boiling them. Some shades of yellow are therefore an "inexpensive color" but as always, it is entirely dependent on what one has used for the plant.  

Safflower
, color thistle, Carthamus tinctorius (Latin species name), safflower, dyers thistle (modern English), saffron saffron, safflower, asfore (old English), safflower, carthame (modern French) safflower, asfrole (old French), gruogo, saffiore ( old italian), cartamo (spanish), usfur, qurtum, qirtim (arabic), hong hua (mandarin), benibana (japanese),
Color: Safflower yellow and the red dye Kartamine consisting of Safflomin A C27H32O16 and Safflomin B C48H54O27

Gives yellow, orange, pink and red-brown colors depending on when you dip in the fabric because the yellow color dissolves faster in water, the red-pink shades you have to mickle a bit more to get. The pink was called kurenai and was limited to only the imperial in Heian period Japan.

Used as a color plant since 3500 BC in Egypt, plants all over the world but imported to Europe by the Arabs during the Middle Ages. Used in England since the 16th century.  

Saffron
, Crocus sativus (Latin species name), Saffronum (Old Latin), Saffron (Modern English), Saffron (Old English), Saffron (Old French), Zafaran (Arabic)
Color: Krokin C44H70O28

Use the pistil from the flower, it needs 150000 flowers to give a kilo of saffron. Gives depending on how much you use orange-yellow to pale golden-yellow colors. Saffron originates from Greece but was grown in Mesopotamia 5000 years ago. Saffron grows throughout Europe except the northernmost parts, the city of Saffron Walden in England producing saffron during the 16th century.


Turmeric

, Curcuma longa, Curcuma domestica (Latin species name), turmeric, (English), curcuma (French and Italian), turmeric (Arabic)
Color: Turmeric C21H20O6 or E 100

You use the root which gives a bright yellow to pale lemon yellow colors. Imported from Asia, mainly India. Does not have a good hardness. A spoonful of spoonful of Turmeric a day counteracts inflammation by inhibiting the secretion of cells by a signaling molecule that is central to inflammatory processes.


Vau

, color swede, wow, Reseda luteola (Latin species name), wau, weld, dyer's rocket, dyers weed (English)
Dyestuff: Luteolin C15H12O6 The

whole plant is colorful, it grows throughout Europe, North Africa and south-west Asia. Gives yellow to rusty shades depending on the strength of the color bath. The colors are very strong compared to the other yellow plant colors.


Genista tinctoria
Genista tinctoria (Latin species name), dyer's broom, dyer's greenweed, genista, woodwax (English), retama de tintoreros (Spanish) woudwix (Dutch)
Color: Luteolin C15H12O6 The

whole plant is colorful but mainly young shoots and the flowers, it grows , North Africa and Southwest Asia.

The royal house Plantagenet has taken its name from the plant (plant genista), the origin was Geoffrey V who lived between 1113 and 1151 who had the plant as his badge (badge).


Walnut
, Juglans sp (Latin species name), walnut (modern English), walnot (old English)
Color: Tannin C76H82O46 and some tan that I can't find the name of. :)

The shells around the cores give black-brown to brown colors when used with iron sulfate. Depending on the strength of the color bath, it gives different beige-brown colors.

Other plants that give yellow are alfalfa, aspen and birch leaves, brackish bark, onion shell, dewcap, freckle, dog biscuits, color ball, yellow marsh, reindeer, spruce cones, unicorn, St. John's wort, meadow, jelly, reindeer, island slave, heather , roulka, rowan leaves, holly, sallow, squid, pors, tages, gardenia, apple bark and pear bark.

Blue

An interesting fact about blue is that there are plenty of unrelated blue-giving color plants around the earth, but it is not always as they have been used for blue coloring.

Vejde and indigo are used for tipping color as indigotine does not attach to fibers in any other way. Nowadays, with advanced chemistry, you have figured out exactly how to do to get good results, but during the Middle Ages it was the experience and inherited knowledge that made you get good results. So it was not easy to color blue.


Vejde
, Isatis tinctoria (Latin), woad (modern English), wode, wad (old English), pastel (French)
Color: Indigotine C16H10N2O2 and Indigogult (fighter role) C15H10O6

It is the fermented leaves used, contain less indigotine than indigo. Shades colored with weighed may have a certain green tint as weighed also contains a yellow dye. Used in Denmark as early as the Stone Age, used by Celts at least 500 years BC, used by the poets in Britain when the Romans invaded and industrially cultivated in Toulouse and Erfurt during the Middle Ages.


Indigo
, Indigofera tinctoria (Latin), indigo (English),
Dyestuff: Indigotine C16H10N2O2 or E 132 and indigorubin as well as some fighter cholesterol.

It is the fermented leaves used. Has been in use in China since 4000 BC, mentioned by Pliny as indico from India. Harvested in mid-June onwards, added to fermentation, filtered, oxidized, dried to a mass, boiled, filtered, dried to dry enough to cut into pieces of about 100 grams and then dried to dry under controlled conditions for 2 hours. -3 months. Then it was a similarly cumbersome process to go through to be able to color with it. There was a long time of confusion as to whether it was an animal substance, a vegetable substance or a mineral substance since the whole process was done in place in India, when it came to Europe it was already in about 100 grams of lumps.

Indigo also grows in South America and was imported from there from the 18th century. Imported from India and China via the Arab world on a small scale after the Crusades and on an even larger scale since the sea route to India was discovered in 1498, mainly by English and Dutch East India companies. Both France and Germany banned the "devil's color" in the early 17th century to protect domestic road production but to no avail. Indigo was also disliked by the colors because it had such a different quality, because less honest traders drew it out to make more money.

Synthetic indigotine is chemically exactly the same as organic indigotine, but the former is considerably cleaner because cultivated indigo has natural blends of yellow and red dyes that "soak" the color bath.


Blue berries; elderberries

(Sambucus nigra), blueberries (Vaccinium myrtillus)
The above mentioned in Allerley mackerel from 1532 with which you can dye yarn blue with. Secrets of Master Alexis Piemont from 1580 also mention elderberries. However, the hardness is not so good, these colors fade relatively quickly. Blueberry fibers were called slave purple in antiquity.

Historically, outside of Europe, other blue dyes have been used, for example Colored Arrow (Polygonum tinctoria) has been used in Japan. In Sweden there is a relative of it (Trampört Polygonium aviculare), cows that have eaten of it can get blue milk. However, there is no evidence that the plants were used as a dye in the Middle Ages in Europe.

Black

Tannins from walnut, gall apple, oak etc along with iron sulphate give black and is probably the oldest and by far the most common method of coloring black. During the 15th century (perhaps earlier), you knew that if you dye the fabric red or blue first, you get a stronger, darker and more durable black color. It was then used tight and weighed, but red brazil and indigo have also been used for this purpose. Blue Bresilia together with iron sulphate also gives black and was used from the 17th century onwards. Worth noting is that iron sulphate makes the material heavier and that the material is worn faster if it has been cured for too long in a strong color bath.

Green

Thought to mention a few words about green before I start finishing this document.

Green is a color that usually cannot be dyed with just one plant dye because the chlorophyll molecule is unstable and breaks down very easily. However, there are examples of recipes that use Verdigris (copper acetate, is environmentally hazardous and carcinogenic) to get green. Other relatively historically correct alternatives are to color yellow in an iron pot, alternatively with very iron-rich water or gray wool, all of which give yellow-green shades. There are modern examples where you color green with reed, but what I know is that there is no historical evidence that this was done even during the Middle Ages / Renaissance.
To get a true full green color, you have to color yellow and then color with blue or vice versa. Because yellow breaks down more easily than blue, some preserved textiles have a slightly colder green color than the one they most likely had originally.
Depending on how strong the blue bath is and what you have used to color yellow, you get different shades. In the 1580s Italy, among other things, are mentioned the following green hues: foglia d'alloro (bay leaf green), verde d'erba (grass green), verdegaio (lively green), verde porreo (leek green), foglia di ruta (vine green).

Metal salts and other substances

Different metal salts are used to change the nuances in different ways, iron-based salts make the colors dimmer and are an important ingredient for coloring black. Others appreciate the colors, ie make them clearer and sharper. These metal salts are called in Swedish beets, the material is grazed. (English mordant.)

The salts I have listed are the most common and are the form they have today. During the Middle Ages, people became more familiar, and different types of salts could have the same name, which is why I have added some alternatives.


Verdigris
, Spanish green, vertegrez (old English), vert de grice (old French) grünspat (old German)
Modern chemical name is copper acetate or CuCH3COO.H2O which occurs when copper is exposed to acetic acid. Used to color green.

Is environmentally hazardous and carcinogenic, should only be used in the laboratory.


Alum

, alum, alum (English), misy, sory, chalcanthum (alchemist name of alum)
Potassium alum K2SO4 · Al2 (SO4) 3 · 24H2O or E 520

Aluminum ammonium sulfate Al2 (SO4) 3 (NH4) 2SO4.24H2O has also been used.

Mentioned already by Pliny where he calls it salsugaterrae but means a combination of iron sulphate and aluminum sulphate. Used to make the colors stick better and become clearer. Relatively common in the earth's crust, there are several alumni plants where it has been manufactured.


Iron

, vitriol, grön vitrol, copperas, coperas (gammal engelska), couperose (gammal franska), cuprosa, aqua cuprosa (latin)
Modern chemical name is ferrous sulphate aka ferrohydrosulphate or FeSO4.7H2O

Ferroacetate Fe (C2H3O2) 2, ferrochloride FeCl2, ferric nitrate FeNO3, ferrous sulphate Fe (SO4) 3 and iron oxides have been used and called iron vitriol.

Used to darken colors and color black. Make the fibers not as strong as before but wear down easier.


Kopparvitrol
, wind, vitrol, novel vitrol, blue vitrol, bluestone (English) vitrolium (old Latin)
Vitrol was a common name in the Middle Ages for chemical sulfates but usually regarding copper sulphate CuSO4.5H2O

used to produce orange and green colors of red and blue dye baths.

Is environmentally hazardous and carcinogenic, should only be used in the laboratory.


Earnings
cream of tartar, argil, argal, argol, tartar (English)
Modern chemical name for English is potassium hydrogen tartrate or potassium bitartrate KHC4H4O6.

Occurs as a sediment in stored wine, is either white or red depending on the grape it comes from. Used to make alum attach better and more evenly. Because it is acidic, it can affect the color of pH-reactive dyes.


Recreate the recipes yourself

Most of the recipes can be recreated, but you should take the following into account:

There are often large amounts of metal salts, modern research has shown that the fibers can only absorb a given part and extra just ripples around the dye bath without any major effect.

Personally, I follow modern recommendations of about 7-10 g per 100 g of wool.

Some chemicals used are environmentally hazardous, toxic to digest and carcinogenic. Be sure to read about this before starting for your own safety.

The interpretation of the texts can be a little tricky, some things are described vague, others may have translation errors or original conscious errors. Try smaller quantities first.

Some things are not obtainable, either because it is too toxic or you simply do not know what it is that is intended.

If you do not have a municipal drain, you should be a little careful about what you flush down. It may be an idea to re-use the bath of baths and to some extent color baths.

 


This entire text is written by Malin Berglund in her blog there are also many other interesting articles: http://bippimalin.livejournal.com/