Browsing by Author "Vistbacka, Niina"

Woad (Isatis tinctoria L.) is a traditional and versatile dyeing plant producing ignite blue colour. Woad is one of the oldest dyeing plants and its oldest seeds are known from the Stone Age. The purpose of this study is to find out the characteristics of the woad and how to use it in dyeing. During the study, the cultivation of woad became one of the themes of research data. It turned into one research problem. The research was carried out as a literature review. The research material is based on existing literature and previous studies on dying with woad. The choice of material was influenced by the versatility of the material and the subject matter of the research used as material. There is a lot of literature and research on natural colouring and woad. In the end, the source is the most versatile source of content and the most relevant sources of research. I also wanted to deal with natural dying in my research. It opens up natural dying methods to the reader and introduces it to its versatility. Thus, the research results and the terminology used in the study will be closer to the reader. The study found that woad has been used in many ways for centuries. Various dying methods used in dying were a major factor in the success of it. The dyeing result was not always blue but depending on the process varied from greenish to yellow. Also pink and brown dyed textiles were found in the research results. Different conditions in dyeing situations also yielded different results. There was a clear result of the material on the effects of cultivation and harvest. Cultivation of woad is possible for industrial purposes and the effect of plant age on dyeing can be seen. With different follow-up studies, the results provide a good basis for starting to apply the knowledge and thus finding new methods for woad dyeing.