Beautiful dyes have been obtained from plants throughout human history. You can grow your own dye plants or use a wide range of other plants as a source of dye. Archaeologists have found evidence of textile dyeing dating back to the Neolithic period. In China, dyeing with plants, barks and insects has been traced back more than 5,000 years. Natural dyes are derived from three sources. These are plants, invertebrate animals such as beetles or shellfish, or minerals such as ochre, malachite and cinnabar. The majority of natural dyes are vegetable dyes from plant sources—roots, berries, bark, leaves, and wood—and other biological sources such as fungi. This episode's topics include the three sources of natural dyes, the accidental discovery of manufactured dyes, and the strange but true stories of Carmine and Tyrian Purple.  See our photos on Instagram at Mill Cottage, the Little House on the Peninsula Watch our videos on YouTube at Craftsteading Visit our website at www.craftsteading.com