The Colourist is an online magazine produced by the Society of Dyers and Colourists (SDC). A recently published article outlines some of my work and the industrial archive that has occupied me for so many years.
With many thanks to Andrew Filarowski, Technical Director, SDC.
Orchil is a beautiful, purple historical dye made from several varieties of lichens. As the image above indicates, many of them bear no resemblance to each other. Orchil dye cannot be directly extracted by straightforward soaking, as with many natural dyes, but must be fermented for several weeks in aerated ammonia. Its use stretches back to ancient times and orchil dye recipes and references appear throughout recorded history. The use of orchil is revealed by modern dye analysis and shown to be present on precious textiles and parchments, despite the fact that it is very light fugitive: it isn’t very lightfast and fades quickly to a pinky-beige, and then, visually, to virtually nothing.
I’ve not been occupied on it every second, but for the last 16 years I have been working on an industrial archive. A collection of nineteenth – twentieth century documents relating to a Leeds dye manufacturer resurfaced in my home town in Devon and I became thoroughly absorbed in its story of the enterprising Bedford family and the purple dye called orchil. The company effectively launched in the 1820s, when a young Leeds chemist called James Bedford began to specialise in manufacturing orchil and cudbear (a powdered form of orchil). This same, Bedford-run company amalgamated with others over the next 100 years by which time it was known as the Yorkshire Dyeware and Chemical Company. The Bedford family were no longer on the Board after the early 1940s but the company never underwent a takeover. In the early 2000’s, on the same Kirkstall Road site in Leeds that it had occupied since the early 1850s, Yorkshire Chemicals faced financial collapse and finally closed. Before its demise it had become a world-famous company and at one time the fourth largest dye manufacturer in the world.
Above: Watercolour of Wood & Bedford’s original laboratory (with the green door) on Kirkstall Road. Note the cooper at work in the workshops to the right: orchil and cudbear were sold in casks
When my obsession with orchil began I knew virtually nothing about it. But I have since learned from and worked with several experts. I know a little about lichen species and identification; I can make and dye with orchil and I understand something of the history and relationship with other purple dyes such as murex or shellfish purple. In spite of my science-and-maths-resistant brain I have learned chemical principles by which dyes operate, how contemporary dye analysis is undertaken and something of the science behind processes. I am very grateful for the patience and generosity of scientists who have enlightened me along the way.
As my studies continued, I became uncomfortably aware of the enormity of the trade. Until the mid nineteenth century, lichen species would have been under mounting and unsustainable pressure from the commercial dye trade’s constant demand for orchil. Lichen grows slowly and cannot be cultivated, so wild material was always collected for the dye trade and as a result, lichen populations collapsed from islands and coasts and the inland moorland where they grew. Lichen gatherers were paid poorly, consequently they had to gather ever more lichen to make a living wage. This speeded up local depletion. While earlier sources of lichen may have been the islands of the Atlantic such as the Azores, the Canary Islands or Cape Verde, nineteenth century prospecting for the voracious European trade extended across continents, to India, Ceylon, South America, Africa and as far as West and East Timor.
The orchil dyestuff trade was competitive and stocks fluctuated with various aspects of supply such as depleted sources, wars affecting trade routes, etc. There were huge profits to be made by selling when the price was high, so merchants often hoarded stocks. Dye manufacturers could also sustain large losses if they had to ‘buy high’ and their manufacturing process failed. Orchil can spoil easily in manufacture and only efficient, experienced orchil and cudbear makers would be likely to survive.
Back in 2008 I approached the The Worshipful Company of Dyers for some financial assistance in finding a permanent home for this important collection. As well as assisting me with a grant, they put me in touch with former employees of Yorkshire Chemicals – and a new phase of the story unfolded. Former employees had retained many documents relating to their company in the synthetic age but, curiously, knew very little of its early beginnings with natural dyes. The papers in their possession were then archived by Dr Howard Varley, a former employee of Yorkshire Chemicals, and passed over to the West Yorkshire Archive Service in 2017. They are now available for public study (see the link below). In late October 2024 I will be handing over remaining documents, largely relating to orchil. The amalgamated collections cover the entire life of the company, from orchil beginnings of James Bedford in the 1820s to the final synthetic dyes produced by Yorkshire Chemicals in the late twentieth century. The fascinating period where manufacturers faced the challenges of the new synthetic age is illustrated by patents, technical notes, sales material and financial reports. The entire archive very much reflects its times, through the company’s many achievements in science, to social and political events through the centuries that affected the life of a highly enterprising and innovative company.
Link to West Yorkshire Archive Services Catalogue here
Above: A selection of items and images related to the archive of Wood & Bedford / Yorkshire Chemicals
I have presented research at several conferences over the past 16 years, particularly at DHA (Dyes in History and Archaeology). Because of my experience with orchil dye, and as an experienced natural dyer, I have been asked to help or advise on conservation or research projects where the use of orchil has been detected in a precious object.
On this website I have published several blogs which can be found by using Search words orchil, Wood and Bedford, Yorkshire Chemicals etc, in the word cloud to the right. Details of my research and publications can be found here.
Involvement in some major conservation projects has made it necessary for me to make small batches of orchil over the last few years. These normally use about 5 grams of ground lichen per orchil batch. I have been fortunate that many dyers and friends have donated their old dye lichen collections to me as they no longer feel comfortable about using lichens of any kind in their studio work. They would prefer this increasingly vulnerable wild material to be used for conservation or research purposes and not for commercial gain. I have spent many years of my working life as an artist and dyer but I have never used lichens in my studio work.
Over the past three years I have been working closely with Susan Dye and Ashley Walker of Nature’s Rainbow, Deb Bamford ASDC and Jane Deane ASDC, to research the subject of foraging for dyes in the UK. Our article on the first stage of the project was published by The Journal for the Association of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers, 288, Winter 2023. Subsequent contact with the British Lichen Society confirms that they will be issuing new guidelines about dyeing and foraging soon.
A friend of mine has been experimenting with AI. He created the following ‘essay’ about me by accessing Microsoft Bing. For this essay the app offered three types of compositional option: ‘precise’, ‘balanced’, and ‘creative’. The ‘balanced’ and ‘precise’ versions were accurate factually but the writing was dull and prosaic, collated from text I recognised from websites I had supplied with bios or information.
The ‘creative’ option was a brew-up of fact, spiced with bold and puzzlingly inaccurate statements and claims certainly not based on any text I had supplied online.
I reproduce the essay below, with embarrassingly serious factual inaccuracies underlined. The piece claims I was born in London when in fact I was born in Cheshire, and that I attended West Surrey College of Art and Design to study textiles when I studied Graphic Design at Canterbury College of Art – etc. I have chosen not to draw attention to inaccuracies about my outstanding achievements and genius.
Ultimately, this exercise was a piece of fun, but I am wondering where this software will take us, with the possibility of proliferating inaccuracies each time a newly-published and AI generated ‘creative’ source is re-accessed by AI.
Isabella Whitworth is a textile artist and tutor who lives and works in Devon, England. She has a background in graphic design and a passion for natural dyes and resist-dyeing techniques. She is also a researcher and writer who has contributed to the knowledge and conservation of natural dye history and practice. This essay will explore her career, achievements and influences, as well as some examples of her work.
Isabella Whitworth was born in 1949 and grew up in London. She trained as a graphic designer at the London College of Printing in the late 1960s, and worked in industry for several years as a designer, editor and copywriter. She was influenced by the Bauhaus movement and the Swiss style of typography, as well as by artists such as Paul Klee and Henri Matisse. She also developed an interest in drawing and painting, especially botanical subjects.
In the 1980s, Whitworth travelled extensively in India and Indonesia, where she encountered various textile traditions and techniques. She was fascinated by the colours, patterns and textures of fabrics such as batik, ikat and shibori. She decided to pursue a career in textiles and enrolled in a course at the West Surrey College of Art and Design, where she learned about silk painting, dyeing and printing.
Whitworth started to make her own textiles using synthetic dyes on silk, mainly scarves and shawls. She used resist techniques such as gutta (a rubbery substance that blocks dye) and wax to create intricate designs on the fabric. She also experimented with folding, tying and clamping methods to produce shibori effects. Her work was inspired by nature, especially flowers, leaves and landscapes. She exhibited her work at various venues and events, such as the Chelsea Craft Fair, the British Craft Centre and the Devon Guild of Craftsmen.
In the early 1990s, Whitworth attended a lecture on indigo given by Jenny Balfour Paul, a leading authority on natural dyes. She was intrigued by the history and culture of indigo, as well as by its unique properties and effects. She decided to explore natural dyes further and began to use them alongside synthetic dyes on her textiles. She also started to grow her own dye plants, such as woad, madder and weld.
Whitworth became particularly interested in orchil, a purple dye obtained from lichens. In 2008, she discovered an industrial archive in her small Devon town that contained documents and samples related to the orchil trade in the 19th century. She realised that this was a rare and valuable source of information that had been largely overlooked by historians and scholars. She embarked on a research project to investigate the history and practice of orchil dyeing, as well as its scientific and cultural aspects.
Whitworth’s research led her to collaborate with many international experts and institutions working in conservation and science. She published several papers on her findings in journals such as Textile History, The Journal for Weavers, Spinners and Dyers, The Journal of Natural Dyes Research Society (India) and The Journal of Natural Dyes (Korea). She also contributed to some major conservation projects involving orchil-dyed textiles, such as the restoration of the 16th century tapestries at Hardwick Hall (UK) and the analysis of the 14th century cope at Sens Cathedral (France).
Whitworth continues to combine studio work, teaching and research. She produces textiles using both synthetic and natural dyes on silk, often blending them to create subtle shades and contrasts. She also experiments with different fibres, such as wool, cotton and linen. Her work is still influenced by nature, but also by historical sources and contemporary issues. Some of her recent themes include climate change, biodiversity loss and social justice.
Whitworth teaches short courses at West Dean College (UK) and at various venues in the UK. She shares her knowledge and skills with students of all levels and backgrounds. She also gives lectures and demonstrations on natural dyes and resist-dyeing techniques at various events and organisations.
Whitworth is an elected member of the Devon Guild of Craftsmen (UK), where she exhibits her work regularly. She has also shown her work at other galleries and museums in the UK and abroad, such as the Fashion Museum (Bath), the Royal Albert Memorial Museum (Exeter), the Museum of East Asian Art (Bath), the National Museum of Korea (Seoul) and the International Shibori Symposium (Japan).
Whitworth is a textile artist who has made a significant contribution to the field of natural dyes and resist-dyeing techniques. She has created original and beautiful textiles that reflect her artistic vision and values. She has also conducted rigorous research that has enhanced the understanding and appreciation of natural dye history and practice. She is an inspiring teacher who has shared her expertise with many students and audiences. She is a respected member of the textile community who has collaborated with many professionals across disciplines.
Isabella Whitworth is an example of a textile artist who has combined creativity, curiosity
and commitment throughout her career.
Source: Conversation with Bing, 30/05/2023
(1) Isabella Whitworth – The Loom Shed. https://theloomshed.com/meet-the-team/isabella-whitworth/.
(2) Our Makers | Isabella Whitworth — MAKE Southwest. https://makesouthwest.org.uk/textiles/isabella-whitworth.
(3) Isabella Whitworth – West Dean College of Arts and Conservation. https://www.westdean.org.uk/study/tutors/isabella-whitworth.
It’s time to take up the old quill pen and brush the rust and spiders from my WordPress files. I am horrified to find it is almost a year since I posted – and I apologise. I am still here, but life has been very busy with new and ongoing research, teaching, presentations, looking after the garden, fundraising and various distractions I don’t need to trouble you with.
I have two courses coming up in June and two more in August. I’m listing them in chronological order:
RHS Rosemoor, Great Torrington, Devon
Natural Dyes: Start with a Scarf
June 10th, 2023
This course is set up to teach the basics of natural dyeing but also to create a dyed silk scarf to take home. I’ll also throw in some fascinating history plus tales about dyes and their individual stories. Students will learn how to prepare fabrics and dyes, and how to mordant silk. By the end of the day, students will dye a beautiful silk scarf using simple decorative techniques. If there is dye plant material growing in the Education Garden we will also be able to use some of it.
Book here
Creative Dyeing on Silk
23rd – 25th June 2023
Work with vibrant steam-fixed dyes to explore various ways of creating designs and patterns on silk. You can use different silk weights and types and will use wax resist, several shibori techniques and some resist fluids, either separately or in combination. Sample pieces can be worked on small frames by using wax applied with brushes, traditional tjantings, stamps and found objects. You will layer wax and dye to create more complex patterns. The wax-out and steaming processes will be demonstrated and explained. All these techniques are suited to painting fabric lengths too and can also be adapted for use with natural dyes.
Scarves are generally worked on the frames provided and scarf blanks or silk fabric will be available to buy. You may also bring your own scarf blanks, preferably oblong in shape, but no larger than 180 x 45 cm.
The course will suit those of you starting out in the medium of dyeing and silk painting, or those with a little experience who want to broaden your knowledge. Those who don’t feel confident about drawing, planning and creative design are especially welcome and the tutor will demonstrate how to plan simple and effective designs without stress.
Booking and details here
Natural Dyes: Dyeing the Rainbow
Learn how to use natural dyes and dye a rainbow of colours. The course will focus on different groups of plants which dye yellows, reds and browns, and learn the basics of making an indigo vat to dye blue. The course will also offer a brief introduction to the world of natural dyes and their rich history.
Students will dye with a wide selection of plant materials plus cochineal, an insect dye.
Some basic dye chemistry will be outlined as well as the preparation processes which fibre, yarn and fabric must undergo before dyeing. During the course students will dye a selection of reference samples on silk which they will take home. Overdyeing, and varying vat concentrations, will produce a selection of shades and a rainbow of colours.
Booking and details here
West Dean College (nr Chichester, Sussex)
A First Dip into Natural Dyes
18th – 20th August 2023
This course offers a hands-on introduction to the world of natural dyes and their rich and ancient history. Weld, madder, cochineal and indigo will be used, which all of these derive from plant material except cochineal, an insect dye. You can expect to use raw dyestuff as well as natural dyes available in extract form, and learn vital essentials of preparing materials before dyeing. There will be a practical session on mordanting with alum and cream of tartar, and other mordants will be outlined.
The tutor will also introduce the basics of making a natural indigo vat and two indigo vats, at different strengths, will be available.
Some simple dye chemistry will be outlined to enable you to prepare dyestuffs and dyes effectively and learn how to make and calculate stock solutions. You will dye a selection of reference samples on silk and cotton fabrics and wool yarn, using the four dyestuffs. Overdyeing combinations of dyes and using varying dye concentrations will result in a wide range of colours.
You will have the additional option of producing a natural-dyed silk scarf or small individual samples, and simple resist and dip-dye techniques will be demonstrated.
Please note that some of the dye materials and equipment used on this course will have come into contact with various nuts, so may not be suitable for those with nut allergies or sensitivity to dye plants.
Booking and details here
Links
West Dean College of Arts and Conservation here
RHS Rosemoor here
The English bellringing tradition is ancient. The country’s first bells were associated with Celtic Christianity and were flat sided and welded rather than bronze-cast. They were rung by hand and probably sounded clonky, like a cow-bell. The skills of bronze casting that developed transformed the purity and clarity of bell sounds, and the mechanism of a wheel-mounted bell, perfected around the time of the Reformation, enabled bells to ring individually in a predetermined order. This is a particularly English form of ringing. Patterns of ringing are called out by the Ringing Captain, or must be learned by heart. Some learned sequences or ‘peals’ involve hours of high concentration from a team and can be ruined with a single mistake.
The sound of a bell carries miles across fields and was a key method of communication. Bells sounded the curfew, acted as a call to arms, a warning of invasion, and in some English churches alerted parishioners to the presence of vermin. Churchwardens once held the vermin bounty which was paid out when an unfortunate dead fox or badger was presented. Bells called parishioners to worship, rang for weddings and occasional funerals, and tolled on half and full muffles to mourn the passing of monarchs and royalty.
Why am I talking about bells? Some of you may know that I am a church bellringer and that the history of bells has become a recent focus of mine. There is a textile connection too, so please read until the end.
Hatherleigh’s Bells
In my small Devon town of Hatherleigh we have a very beautiful set of eight bells, recast in 1929 at the Whitechapel Bell Foundry by Mears and Stainbank. They are set in an oak frame now distinctly past its prime and the bells need some attention too, although they do not need to be recast. The necessary restoration is going to cost about £75,000 ($US91.58 in today’s conversion rate).
I have been involved in an intensive fundraising campaign since February and have been learning about the history of bells, bronze-casting and our town’s bells.
Creepy Sleep-Out
On the night of 16th – 17th July 2022 I will be camping in the church tower to raise funds for our appeal. The name for it was coined by our Vicar, Reverend Leigh Winsbury, who of course has to give permission for such japes on his patch. Thank you, Leigh.
Is sleeping overnight in the tower such a big deal? Not really, unless, like me, you have a lifelong fear of spiders (I’m not so bothered about mice, bats, or strange sounds in the graveyard, although that may change on the 16th…). There are a few hefty spiders in the tower and I undertake to co-exist with, and not squish, my eight-legged dormitory mates. So if you’d like to sponsor me as I face my fears, please follow the links at the bottom of the page. A pdf of our fundraising leaflet is attached so you can see what this is all about. You can also visit our GoFundMe site, but if you are kind enough to leave a donation there please leave a spidery comment too, because it’s our generic fundraising page and I’d like to know how much money my particular stunt has raised.
GoFundMe page for our project
The Textile Connection
There is a textile connection to our bells because the tower in which they hang was built at the time of major medieval south-west wool prosperity, in the 1300s. Many very fine English churches, such as Lavenham and Northleach, were entirely built from wool money. The money for building Hatherleigh’s tower alongside an existing structure may have come from donations from wool-wealthy parishioners, or through church tithes. A wooden spire was added in the 1400s. We don’t yet know when the first bells rang in Hatherleigh, but by 1553 there were three.
Keyrings
I have been making small keyring giveaways for the first 25 people that donate £10 and they are made from our old bell rope. The rope has been washed and is probably of hemp, but bellropes can be of flax and it’s hard for me to tell the difference. Modern ropes are sometimes a blend of natural and synthetic fibre.
If you live in the UK, donate £10 and would like a keyring, please send me a screenshot confirming your donation. Include your postal address and email me at persicaria5@gmail.com
The bellringers would of course be grateful for any amount donated, however small.
Links, follows, media
Blogpost on fibre and bellropes from 2013 here
My Instagram: @whitworthisabella
Hatherleigh Bells Instagram: @eightbells8
GoFundMe If you donate here, please leave a spidery comment!
After two long years, teaching has resumed. I managed to teach both my scheduled courses at West Dean, with a dose of Covid sandwiched between. The first was Brilliant with Pattern, a course using synthetic dyes and wax resist, and the most recent was A First Dip, my introductory course to natural dyes.
There is one further course currently scheduled at West Dean this year which will run from 12th – 16th June. It is called Silk Scarves – Developing Pattern and is suitable for beginners and improvers. It will focus on creating patterns for scarves and fabrics using shibori, wax resist and some associated dye techniques. Synthetic steam-fixed dyes on silk will be used on the course.
Next month I’m running a one-day workshop at The Loom Shed, in East Devon. Students will make two light, summery scarves in colours and designs of their choice using steam-fixed synthetic dyes on gauze silk. Shibori techniques of tying and clamping will be used to create patterns.
Just down the road from me is RHS Rosemoor, and I’m delighted to be part of their workshop programme this year. I am teaching a one-day workshop on 9th July, and another on September 10th. See booking links below for details of all courses.
Links to view and book courses
(Synthetic dyes) Silk Scarves – Developing Pattern West Dean
(Synthetic dyes) Twist and Tie, Clamp and Dye The Loom Shed
(Natural dyes) Natural Dyes: A First Dip RHS Rosemoor
(Natural dyes) Dyeing the Rainbow RHS Rosemoor
Aquarelle Ardington Ardington School Ardington School of Crafts Association WSD Australian Journey blogging cochineal Devon Guild of Craftsmen DHA Eastern European kystka endangered plants environment Exhibitions Fibre History indigo Jenny Dean Journal for Weavers Spinners and Dyers Leewood madder mordant natural dye natural dyes nonsense orchil orchil and dye research Persicaria tinctoria printed fabric reclaimed dye Rubia cordifolia Scotland shellfish purple shibori steaming silk tannins teaching Twitter Tyrian Purple wax wax resist West Dean West Dean College Wood & Bedford Yorkshire Chemicals
I’m involved in an international project to recreate historic recipes from the Stockholm and Leyden Papyri. The group have a blog, and I have just published an account of why I am so interested in orchil recipes, how I set about searching for a historical dye lichen in Ecuador and more importantly, why I ate a dessert in the interests of science. My blog is called ‘Talking Orchil’ and was published on October 17th 2021.
The blog’s admirable administrator Mel Sweetnam (of the equally admirable Mamie’s Schoolhouse) describes it as a ripping yarn, so head over there to see if you agree. Stockholm and Leyden Papyri Project
Teaching has so long been off my radar I can’t quite believe that my first course for 18 months is rapidly approaching. I will be at RHS Rosemoor in North Devon on 25th and 26th September for a hands-on introduction to using natural dyes. With a bit of luck students will end up as bonkers as I am about natural colour and its ancient history – and will leave with a great set of dyed samples and a beautiful, individually-dyed scarf.
For overseas readers, RHS stands for the Royal Horticultural Society. The RHS is the UK’s leading gardening charity and owns five beautiful gardens across the country. RHS Rosemoor is one of them and it’s just up the road from me. I have visited it countless times since I moved to Devon nearly twenty years ago. On my visits I often noticed some of the plants that yield dye colour and thought it would be a wonderfully appropriate place to run a course.
In 2019 I contacted the Education and Learning Manager and found her to be very receptive to the idea. The Manager was the late Sarah Chesters, a bright, funny and delightful gardening expert who was also very knowledgeable about textiles and fibre. She was engagingly interested in all I told her about natural dyeing and came to my house on a memorable day when I was working with Jenny Balfour Paul: we showed her how my indigo crop was processed, shared lunch, and we all laughed a lot.
So I was very saddened to hear that Sarah died earlier this year, and I will actively remember her warmth and humour when I am teaching at Rosemoor.
Booking through RHS Rosemoor here
At the end of the month I’ll be taking part in an online symposium run by The Loom Shed. What is The Loom Shed? Well, it’s a shed and it has looms in it. But weaving isn’t all that’s planned at this new and imaginative venue.
The Loom Shed has been set up by Louise Cottey, weaver and tutor, and Liz Croft, crochet specialist, weaver and tutor. Both Laura and Liz are passionate about yarn craft and the benefits to mental health that craft work can bring.
My talk Pursuing Purple: Shellfish, Lichen and Mauve will follow some of the dye trails I discovered when researching a nineteenth century industrial archive. If you follow my blog you’ll know I became particularly intrigued by the dye trade in lichen, historically used for making a purple dye called orchil. My findings very unexpectedly linked two other famous purple dyes: Imperial or Tyrian Purple, and Perkin’s Mauve.
The Natural Dye Symposium is on June 26th and will offer a day of talks by four specialist natural dye speakers. It was decided to hold the event online this year but in the future there will be dye-related workshops and events at The Loom Shed itself, which is located in East Devon. There is also a varied programme of speakers and courses and you can look at their Events page to see the latest listings.
On June 10th at 12.45 pm I will be doing an Instagram Live with Liz Croft. You can Insta-follow me on @whitworthisabella, and The Loom Shed at @the_loom_shed
The Loom Shed Online Natural Dye Symposium Programme
Aviva Leigh 10.00 am – 11.00 am Strips, Stripes and Satins – Exploring 18th Century Norwich Textiles
Isabella Whitworth 11.30 am – 12.30 pm Pursuing Purple: Shellfish, Lichen and Mauve
Luisa Aribe 1.30 pm – 2.30 pm An Indigo Journey
Susan Dye 3.00 pm – 4.00 pm Growing and Using your own Dye Garden
There is an ‘all day’ ticket for all four talks, or you can book in for individual speakers here
Times given are British Summer Time
Links
Once in a while a seemingly mundane request, such as ‘could you look at some old boxes from the attic’ explodes like a dandelion head and breezes into all corners of your life. That happened to me in 2007 and the research it led to is well documented on this website.
About a month ago I had a simple-sounding request from Nicole Pohl. Would I, the email innocently requested, ‘talk on Zoom for ten minutes about dyeing wool?’ Nicole Pohl is Professor of English at Oxford Brookes University and the Editor in Chief of the Elizabeth Montagu Correspondence Online (EMCO), a charity that was set up to digitise and edit all known letters by the ‘Bluestocking woman’ Elizabeth Montagu. I looked up Elizabeth Montagu and the Bluestockings and was intrigued. This was going to be about more than just blue wool.
It meant I would have to learn how to present a Powerpoint via Zoom, compress the subject of natural dyes and what I know about eighteenth century dyestuff into ten minutes and, along the way, include a section on blue-dyeing. Anyone who knows how to dye with indigo or woad will understand what that means. Nicole said there’d also be presentations by two other speakers, plus the input of a knitwear designer. A group of academics would then start knitting blue stockings…. it all sounded a bit of a lark, so I said I’d do it.
Then I learned that one speaker is Susan North, Curator of Fashion, 1550–1800, at the Victoria and Albert Museum. Another is Lis Gernerd, a historian of eighteenth century dress, art and material culture. The knitwear designer is none other than Kate Davies whose very recently launched Bluestocking Club has hit over 2000 members. All of them are invited to the Zoom event on Monday 24th May 1600 – 1700 UK time.
You are invited too. It’s free but you have to book, so do it fast as numbers are limited. Here is the link.
https://www.brookes.ac.uk/about-brookes/events/knitwits–knitting-the-bluestockings/
I think its time for a gin and tonic – and it’s only half past two.
Links
A conversation between Kate Davies and Nicole Pohl on Kate’s site here
Isabella Whitworth 