Centuries ago, the only way to get colour into textiles was to dye it with something found naturally. Natural dyes, like madder (rubia tinctorum) or cutch (acacia catechu) and others.
The first organic synthetic dye, mauveine, was discovered coincidentally by an English chemist, William Henry Perkin in 1865. He was experimenting with coal tar, a byproduct of coal-gas production.
Before his discovery, natural dyes were the only option and to make purple dye was difficult and expensive. It had to be made by crushing thousands of sea snails for just one robe (Smithsonian).
Since then tens of thousands of synthetic dyes have been synthesised. And 80% of dyes are used for textiles (Bath University).
Synthetic dyes are bad for the environment. The textile industry discharges waste water into our water bodies with dye in it. Textile effluent has polluted our environment, and poses a serious threat to soil fertility and crop production.
Synthetic dyes are also toxic to the people producing them who have long term exposure (Science Direct). Some dyes have been found to be carcinogenic and are now banned.
Nicola Cliffe is a chemistry teacher with a lifelong love of textiles. After leaving teaching to pursue a career in art, she completed a Masters in sustainable textile design. She took this knowledge back to her workshop and Madder Cutch & Co was the result.
At Madder Cutch & Co Nicola draws her designs from nature. She then screen prints, by hand, onto 100% linen fabrics.
The natural dyes she uses have been developed by her over the years. They’re extracted in environmentally friendly ways from plants like woad (isatis tinctoria), weld (reseda luteola), indigo (indigofera tinctoria) and, of course, madder and cutch. The natural dyes are available to purchase on Madder Cutch & Co.
Nicola teaches others how to make natural dyes and how to screen print. She runs full and half day workshops and a week long summer school at Marlborough College. Her teaching is now also more widely available in the form of a book.
Printing with Natural Dyes
Printing with Natural Dyes is a practical guide that will teach you how to produce prints at home. The 112-page paperback has detailed and step-by-step instructions to get you started with printing. It has chapters on relief printing, screen printing and eco-printing. It also covers plant dyes, printing recipes and design.
The book can be purchased from all good bookstores, from the publisher, The Crowood Press and directly from the Madder Cutch & Co website.
Nicola says “I feel so proud of how the book has turned out and of the valuable contributions from fellow printers, natural dyers, designers and gardeners. I am also very lucky that I had a great bunch of family and friends to help with the photography, testing the practical projects and editing.”
Nicola will be at Tissus D’Helene in Chelsea Design Centre East on the 28th February for a book signing event. This is an opportunity to meet the author, purchase the book and get a copy signed. The event will run from 3pm to 7pm with a talk at 4pm.
