The plant dye workshop

Try your hand at dyeing your own
fabric belt or headband with plant dyes. In the Middle Ages, dyes derived
from plants were an important part of textile manufacture, as synthetic dyes
had not yet been invented. The dyes were extracted from different plant
parts, such as leaves, roots, fruits, flowers and bark. The choice of the
plant depended on the desired colour and what was available – either in the
surrounding nature or using imported dyes at markets in the big cities. Not
many well-preserved items of clothing from the Middle Ages remain, but by
examining both preserved clothes, pieces of cloth, paintings and descriptions
of fashion in contemporary texts, we can get an idea of how people dressed
back then.