NK - A & S Question -Reply

[Nathan W. Jones]

Kenneth wrote:
>Yarn is indeed one of the oldest cloth items around. 
>However, few if any bright collors would have been in 
>use in Europe at that time because dies were of a
>natural type generally derived from plants with no 
>chemical enhancements. 

Ummm...I have to disagree.  Most dyes weren't colorfast
as we know them today, able to stand up to repeated washing
with little or no fading.  However, (and I haven't done
the book research on this, just the practical application
of dying wool), you can get very bright vibrant colors 
from natural dyes.  And, those that dye have been using
chemical additives for quite some time, including uric
acid, iron, vinegar, lime and such.

I have seen yarn dyed using natural material come out
hot pink, flouresant green and banana yellow, and that 
was just from lichen dying.

just my two cents.


Gio
Northkeep
Ansteorra