Sometimes it happens that we buy a garment, a sweater, for example, or a sweatshirt, but realize, once we get it home, that it’s way too big, we just swim in it. However, we just love everything else about it – fabric, color, design. At that point we may be tempted to shrink it: but how can we do that without ruining the garment? Without matting it or miniaturizing it? Actually, all things considered, this is an operation that’s within everyone’s reach. If you want to try it yourself, read this post where we explain how to shrink a garment in the washing machine safely and easily.
For some, the world of “do-it-yourselfers” is a crazy place that always seems to be inventing ways to complicate their lives and never settling for anything “ready-made.” This may be true, but in some cases these people do manage to find personal ways to make really, really beautiful “things” like, for example, homemade natural dyes. If you want to try your hand and succeed in dyeing fabrics with natural ingredients, follow this short guide.
For some, the world of “do-it-yourselfers” is a crazy place that always seems to be inventing ways to complicate their lives and never settling for anything “ready-made.” This may be true, but in some cases these people do manage to find personal ways to make really, really beautiful “things” like, for example, homemade natural dyes. If you want to try your hand and succeed in dyeing fabrics with natural ingredients, follow this short guide.
From nature to dye: a journey through the millennia
The history of fabric dyeing show that dyeing is an ancient practice that has shaped not only the evolution of fashion but also that of entire civilizations. It is, of course, difficult to reconstruct all its steps today, because its history actually coincides with that of humankind, and begins as early as the Paleolithic period, that is, 25,000 years B.C.E. when primitive man used colored stones, clays, and plants to draw designs on cave walls. This expressive, narrative, and animistic impulse paved the way for an evolution that would profoundly influence subsequent civilizations.
In short, it’s a long story. Take a seat, take your time and … enjoy your reading!
