The Natural Dye Handbook: A Comprehensive Guide to Exploring Plant-Based Dyeing Techniques, Heidi Iverson

The Natural Dye Handbook is a gorgeously illustrated, highly practical guide that brings plant-based dyeing into both traditional and eco-conscious contemporary practice. Iverson presents over 60 dye sources—from fungi and bark to flowers, nuts and leaves—explaining their use with clarity and creativity. The book covers essential dye knowledge including tannins, mordants, modifiers and a richly visual colour theory section designed to help makers build their own personal dye palette and record findings in a dye journal.

Balanced between technical instruction and mindful craft practice, Iverson also explores intuitive approaches: low-energy baths, water-saving methods, ethical foraging, and cultivating dye plants at home. Each chapter invites readers to look more closely at the relationships between fibre, colour and environment—transforming simple skeins into stories of place, season and intentional creativity.

About the Author
Heidi Iverson is a textile artist, teacher, and founding member of Fibershed—a grassroots organisation promoting ecological dyeing and mending work. Active in Northern California, she uses workshops and writing to foreground regenerative fibre systems and community-based craft, bringing both heart and expertise to this handbook.

Publication date: 2025
Publisher: David and Charles
Pages: 144
ISBN: 9781446314760