Southern Appalachian Digital Collections

Western Carolina University (20) View all

Vegetable Dyes

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  • This article, published in the "Bulletin" of the Garden Club of America in 1938, details the process of vegetable dyeing for wool. It was written by Louise Pitman, an expert in natural dyeing, who served as the director of Handicrafts at the John C. Campbell Folk School. The article describes natural sources for various colors, such as marigolds for yellow, beets and madder for red, and indigo for blue. Also explained are mordants, necessary for fixing the colors, which can be alum, chrome, tin, or copper. Pitman gives detailed instructions on fixing mordants as well as the dyeing process. Dyes from different areas of the world are mentioned and compared to local, Appalachian dyes and superstitions regarding them.
Object
  • This article, published in the "Bulletin" of the Garden Club of America in 1938, details the process of vegetable dyeing for wool. It was written by Louise Pitman, an expert in natural dyeing, who served as the director of Handicrafts at the John C. Campbell Folk School. The article describes natural sources for various colors, such as marigolds for yellow, beets and madder for red, and indigo for blue. Also explained are mordants, necessary for fixing the colors, which can be alum, chrome, tin, or copper. Pitman gives detailed instructions on fixing mordants as well as the dyeing process. Dyes from different areas of the world are mentioned and compared to local, Appalachian dyes and superstitions regarding them.