Simply Crochet - USA (2020-01)

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GOOD READ

H

aveyouevercrochetedwithnatural
hand-dyedyarns?Thistraditional
techniqueisstillinusethanksto
expertslikeAlisonWhite,whocook
upallsortsofcolourwaysintheir
kitchens.“Afriendtaughtmetocrochet
aboutsixyearsagoandI prettyquickly
becamehookedonhand-dyedyarn,”
explainsAlison.“Ilovedthewayallthe
myriadcoloursthathand-dyerswere
usingworkedupintoa finisheditem.”
Afterattendinga yarndyeingretreatin
LymeRegisandlearningthecraft,andthen
startingoutathomeusingchemicaldyes,
Alisonis nowcommittedtoa natural
approach.”I’velongpreferredorganichome
grownfoodandcookingfromscratch,andI
foundmyselflookingatthingslikeonion
skins and nettles, and wondering ‘what if?’.

I readseveralbooksandthenfeltreadyto

havea go.I perseveredandeventually,with

thehelpofsomeverybasicchemistry, it

clicked. I’ve never looked back.”

FLOWERPOWER

Alisonexplainstherearethreemainareas

thatnaturaldyesfallinto.Firstly,foodand

flowerwastelikeonionskins,avocadopits

andeucalyptus.“Wheneverweusethese

foodsinourcooking,orI receiveflowers

frommyhusband,I savetheskins,pitsor

leavesanddrythemoutonmykitchen

windowsill.OncetheyaredryI transferthem

intolargepaperbagsandstoretheminmy

utilityroomuntilI’vebuilt up a big enough

supplytodyewith.”

Thenextcategoryareplantsgrownin

Alison’s West Berkshire garden, including

plantslikelady’smantle,lady’sbedstrawand

madderroot.“WeliverightontheRiverPang

andhavereallygoodsoil,soplantsgrow

reallywellinmygarden.Themadderrootis

harvestedintheautumnandtakestwoyears

ormoreofgrowthtodevelopa goodcolour.

I’mgrowingmyownwoadthisyearsoI am

lookingforwardtoharvestingthat.”

FinallyAlisonis alsoabletocreatedyes

fromplantsgatheredfromthehedgerows.“I

domypickingandplantspottingonmydaily

walkswithmylittledogMerlin.I’velearned

fromexperiencewhichnettlepatchesgive

thebestcolouratwhattimeofyear.”She is

keentostressthathermaterialsare

harvestedina sustainableway,“I’mcareful

nottopickhedgerowplantsinfloweror

seed,andnevertakemorethantenpercent

of the leaves from any plant or patch.”

“Anaturallydyedcolourhasa

depthoftonethatcan’tbe

matched by a chemical dye”

AlisonWhiteis hookedonyarnsdyedinnaturalshades,andsheachieves

amazing depth of colour within an eco-friendly enterprise...

True Colours

Seepage 53

forLucyCroft’s

wavebiasshawl,

CraEdwHeN

Ron’SaUrlY

de yr!