A Guide to Natural Dyes: Piedmont, NC

A 32-page field guide to growing color, straight from my own dye pots and garden beds here in the Piedmont.

Inside, you'll find everything I wish I'd had when I started: the basics of scouring, mordanting, and building a dye bath, explained simply enough to actually use. A season-by-season directory of the plants I grow and forage myself — Japanese indigo, marigold, cosmos, weld, goldenrod, black walnut, willow, coreopsis, sumac, wild indigo, and more — each with real recipes and honest notes on what's forgiving and what's fickle. A short history of color in this region, including the harder parts of that story. And a full section on starting your own dye garden, whether you've got a whole bed to fill or just a pot on the porch.

This isn't a technical manual. It's the shortcuts I'd hand a friend — written so anyone curious about pulling color from plants can actually get started, no science background required.

Format: Digital PDF, 32 pages, sized for a half-letter print or easy screen reading.