Bibliography and Sources

This note collects the key books, articles, and online resources that underpin the Natural Dye and Eco Printing — Learning Journey. Sources are grouped by topic to match the steps they support. Where a DOI or stable URL exists, it is linked directly.

Foundational Books

These are the core texts in the field — between them they cover history, chemistry, plant sources, mordanting, and technique in depth. If you read only a few books, start here.

Jenny Dean — Wild Colour: How to Make and Use Natural Dyes ISBN: 978-1-78472-553-2 (Pavilion Books, 2018 revised ed.) The most accessible all-round introduction: plant profiles, mordant guides, and step-by-step dyebath instructions. Referenced throughout Step 07 — Plant Dye Sources, Step 06 — Mordants — Making Colour Stick, and Step 10 — The Dyebath — A Step-by-Step Guide. Amazon listing

India Flint — Eco Colour: Botanical Dyes for Beautiful Textiles ISBN: 978-1-59668-330-3 (Interweave Press, 2008) The book that introduced eco printing as a named practice to a wide audience. Essential for Step 03 — What Is Eco Printing, Step 13 — Choosing Plants for Eco Printing, Step 14 — Bundling and Steaming Techniques, and Step 15 — Eco Printing on Paper. Amazon listing

Dominique Cardon — Natural Dyes: Sources, Tradition, Technology and Science ISBN: 978-1-904982-00-5 (Archetype Publications, 2007) The encyclopaedic scholarly reference — 778 pages covering biological descriptions, historical recipes, and full chemistry of every major natural dye. The definitive source for Step 01 — Natural Dye in History and Culture, Step 04 — The Science of Colour and Fibre, Step 08 — Insects and Animal-Derived Dyes, and Step 09 — Iron, Tannins, and Mineral Dyes. Publisher listing via Maiwa

Catharine Ellis & Joy Boutrup — The Art and Science of Natural Dyes: Principles, Experiments, and Results ISBN: 978-0-7643-5633-9 (Schiffer Publishing, 2019) A rigorous, experiment-driven guide aimed at dyers who want to understand why things work. Key reference for Step 04 — The Science of Colour and Fibre, Step 11 — Colour Modifiers and Afterbaths, Step 12 — Achieving Colour Range and Depth, and Step 16 — Fermentation Vats — Indigo and Beyond. AbeBooks listing

History and Culture

Relevant to Step 01 — Natural Dye in History and Culture.

• “Natural Dyes: The History of Extraction of Beautiful Plant Pigments” — Marasim Blog. Covers madder in the Indus civilisation (c. 3000 BC), Tutankhamun’s grave goods, and ancient Chinese use. marasim.co

• “Natural Colorants: Historical, Processing and Sustainable Prospects” — PMC / Natural Products and Bioprospecting (2017). Open-access review covering henna, kermes, indigo, and madder in ancient Egypt and beyond. PMC link

• “Natural Dyes in Historical Egyptian Textiles” — Lupine Publishers: Fashion Technology & Textile Engineering. Describes madder-dyed textile fragments from Tutankhamun’s tomb. lupinepublishers.com

• “Meet Madder, Woad and Weld: Traditional Dye Plants of Europe” — Low Impact Living. Practical overview of the three great European dye plants and their archaeological record. lowimpact.org

• “Medieval Dye Plants Discovered in Belgium for the First Time” — Medievalists.net (2025). Reports archaeological traces of weld, madder, and woad in medieval Belgian cloth production. medievalists.net

Science of Colour and Mordanting

Relevant to Step 04 — The Science of Colour and Fibre and Step 06 — Mordants — Making Colour Stick.

• Maiwa Guide to Natural Dyes — Comprehensive free online guide from Maiwa Handprints (Vancouver) covering water, fibres, mordants in three parts, and individual dye plants. An excellent companion to the foundational books. maiwahandprints.blogspot.com

• Ellis, C. & Boutrup, J. — The Art and Science of Natural Dyes (see Foundational Books above) — Chapters on mordant chemistry are especially relevant here.

Plant Dye Sources

Relevant to Step 07 — Plant Dye Sources.

• “Plant-Based Dyes: Indigo, Madder, and Weld” — Mother Earth Gardener. Profiles the three most historically important plant dyes with growing notes. motherearthgardener.com

• Jenny Dean’s Wild Colour website — Contact Printing on Fabric and Paper jennydean.co.uk

Insects and Animal-Derived Dyes

Relevant to Step 08 — Insects and Animal-Derived Dyes.

• “Cochineal” — Encyclopædia Britannica. Overview of cochineal biology, history of Spanish introduction to Europe, and modern uses. britannica.com

• Akçay, A. A. — “The Use of Insect Pigment in Art Works” — Insects 15(7):519 (2024). DOI: 10.3390/insects15070519. Open-access scholarly article covering carmine, cochineal, lac, and kermes across art history. PMC link

Fibres and Fabric Preparation

Relevant to Step 05 — Natural Fibres and Fabric Preparation.

• “What Is TENCEL Lyocell Fabric: Overview & Sustainability” — Ecolife. Explains the closed-loop NMMO process and Lenzing’s 99.8% solvent recovery rate. ecolife.com

• Lenzing AG — TENCEL™ Lyocell product page — Official manufacturer data on the closed-loop production process and Higg Index sustainability scores. lenzing.com

Eco Printing

Relevant to Step 13 — Choosing Plants for Eco Printing, Step 14 — Bundling and Steaming Techniques, and Step 15 — Eco Printing on Paper.

• India Flint — Eco Colour (see Foundational Books above) — The primary reference.

• “Eco Printing Techniques for Paper Decoration” — Pixartprinting Blog. Includes a tutorial by artist Grazia Bambino (Elementi Naturali) covering paper eco printing step by step. pixartprinting.com

• “Eco Printing on Paper with Leaves and Flowers” — FiberArtsy. Practical beginner how-to. fiberartsy.com

Fermentation Vats and Indigo

Relevant to Step 16 — Fermentation Vats — Indigo and Beyond.

• Miyazaki, Y. & Murase, A. — “Fermentation Blues: Analyzing the Microbiota of Traditional Indigo Vat Dyeing in Hunan, China” — Microbiology Spectrum 10(4) (2022). DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.01663-22. Open-access article examining the bacterial communities that drive indigo reduction in traditional Chinese vats. ASM Journals

• “The Fermented Indigo Vat: An Introduction” — Ellis Textiles blog (Joy Boutrup & Catharine Ellis). Companion to their book; discusses the practical science of fermentation vats. blog.ellistextiles.com

• “The Revival of Natural Indigo Dyeing: Techniques and Global Impact” — Textile School. Overview of the global indigo revival and the reduction chemistry. textileschool.com

Resist Dyeing

Relevant to Step 17 — Resist Dyeing Techniques.

• “Shibori: Japan’s Language of Cloth” — Wandering Silk. History of Japanese shibori and its relationship to resist traditions in Central Asia, Peru, and China. wanderingsilk.org

• “Batik vs. Shibori: Understanding Resist-Dyeing Techniques in Sustainable Fashion” — Anuprerna. Compares the two traditions and traces Indian parallel heritage (Dabu, Gujarat wax resist). anuprerna.com

Lightfastness

Relevant to Step 18 — Lightfastness and Caring for Naturally Dyed Items.

• “A Treatment to Reduce Fading and Degradation of Textiles” — University of Nebraska Digital Commons (peer-reviewed). Compares fading of indigo, turmeric, and other natural dyes under UV exposure; shows turmeric fades most (ΔE = 59) and indigo least (ΔE = 1.3). digitalcommons.unl.edu

• “Characteristics of Fading of Wool Cloth Dyed with Selected Natural Dyestuffs on the Basis of Solar Radiant Energy” — Dyes and Pigments 59(3) (2003). DOI: 10.1016/S0143-7208(03)00065-2. Scholarly study showing most natural dyes have poorer lightfastness than AATCC Blue Wool L2 standard. ScienceDirect

• “Improving Light Fastness of Natural Dyes on Cotton Yarn” — Scribd / technical paper. Demonstrates that vitamin C and gallic acid as additives improve lightfastness across multiple natural dyes. scribd.com

Sustainability and Ethics

Relevant to Step 19 — Sustainability and Ethics in Natural Dyeing.

• “Extraction of Eco-Friendly Natural Dyes and Biomordants for Textile Coloration: A Critical Review” — Sustainable Chemistry and Pharmacy (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.scp.2024.101549. Reviews environmental advantages of natural dyes and biomordants over synthetics. ScienceDirect

• “Natural Versus Synthetic Dyes: Consumers’ Understanding of Apparel Coloration and Their Willingness to Adopt Sustainable Alternatives” — Cleaner and Responsible Consumption (2023). DOI: 10.1016/j.clrc.2023.100088. Explores consumer attitudes and the complexity of the ‘natural = sustainable’ assumption. ScienceDirect

Gyotaku — Fish Printing

Relevant to Step 21 — Gyotaku — Fish Printing.

• “Traditional Japanese Fish Art Could Be a Boon for Conservation” — Smithsonian Magazine. Reports on researchers Miyazaki and Murase collecting 261 gyotaku, including prints dating to 1839 (Edo period). smithsonianmag.com

• “Gyotaku — Japan’s Fish Printing Culture from the Edo Period to the Present” — WTF Wasabi. Detailed history including the oldest surviving gyotaku (“The Crucian Carp of Kinshi-bori”, February 1839, Lord Sakai Tadayoshi). wtfwasabi.com

• “Gyotaku Fish Printing” — Kennedy Center Education Resources. K–2 lesson plan providing a concise historical overview: “Gyotaku (gyo = fish, taku = rubbing) was invented in the early 1800s in Japan by fishermen who wanted to record their catch.” kennedy-center.org

• “How the Traditional Japanese Art of Fish Printing Inspired a Modern Art Form” — Atlas Obscura. Profiles the form’s history including the contested earliest example (a carp from the Mogami River, 1857, held at the Honma Museum, Yamagata). atlasobscura.com

Online Communities and Further Learning

Relevant to Step 20 — Where to Learn More — Resources and Community.

• Maiwa School of Textiles — Workshop programmes in natural dyeing (mordanting, cellulose and protein fibres, dyepot work). maiwa.teachable.com

• Jenny Dean’s Wild Colour website — Articles, tutorials, and plant profiles from the author of Wild Colour. jennydean.co.uk

• India Flint’s website — Portfolio, workshops, and eco printing resources from the originator of the practice. indiaflint.com