Threadbear - Patchwork & Quilting

19th Century Reds, c. 1875

by Nancy Gere for Windham Fabrics

One of the more "colorful" stories of 19th century textiles is that of the reds, specifically Madder Red, and Turkey Red. The basis of these colors used as a textile dye technically dates back as early as 1500 BC where the roots of the Madder Rubia were cultivated as a dyestuff. By 1804 an English dye maker named George Field refined the use of the madder root by using a mordent, which is a substance used to set dyes to textiles. The resulting madder lake had a longer-lasting color, and could be used not only as a textile dye, but as a dye in paint.
Turkey Red was a color also derived from Madder Rubia. The term almost exclusively refers to a bright red color for dyed textiles, and is thought to have been established in Glasgow Scotland. Starting in the eighteenth century Turkey Red was principally an export item, shipped to colonists and traders in the Americas, Africa, and the Middle East. $24.50 per metre

30140-1	30140-2	30140-3	30141-2
30141-3	30142-1	30142-2	30142-3
30143-1	30143-2	30143-3	30144-1
30144-2	30144-3	30145-1	30145-2
30145-3	30146-1	30146-2	30146-3
30147-1	30147-2	30147-3	30148-2
30148-3	30149-2	30149-3	30150-2
30150-3	30151-1	30151-2	30152-1
30152-2	30153-1	30153-2

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