So what natural dyes did you look at?
所以你研究了什么自然染料呢？
Well, one was turmeric.
哦，一个是姜黄。
The colour's great, it's a really strong yellow.
那个颜色很棒，是非常明亮的黄色。
It's generally used in dishes like curry.
它一般会在咖喱这种菜里面用到。
It's meant to be quite good for your health when eaten.
所以吃起来对身体健康很好。
But you might find it's not permanent when it's used as a dye-a few washes, and it's gone.
但是你可能发现如果作为染料的话，它不够持久——洗几次就全都掉色了。
Right, I used beetroot as a dye for wool.
对，我用甜菜根给羊毛染色了。
When I chop up beetroot to eat I always end up with bright red hands.
每次切甜菜根吃的时候，我的手都会是红红的。
But the wool ended up just a sort of watery cream shade.
但是羊毛只是有点水黄色的阴影。
Disappointing. There's a natural dye called Tyrian purple. Have you heard of that?
太令人失望了。有一种叫做泰尔红紫的天然染料。你听说过吗？
Yes. It comes from a shellfish, and it was worn in ancient times.
是的，它取自于一种贝类，古代的时候有人穿。
But only by important people as it was rare.
但是只有那些重要人物才会穿，因为它很珍稀。
I didn't use it. It fell out of use centuries ago, though one researcher managed to get hold of some recently.
我没有用它。几个世纪之前它就不再使用了，尽管有一个研究人员最近想做出一些。
But that shade of purple can be produced by chemical dyes nowadays.
但是那种紫色现在可以通过化学染剂做出来。
Did you use any black dyes?
你用了黑色染料吗？
Logwood. That was quite complicated.
洋苏木。那真的很复杂。
I had to prepare the fabric so the dye would take.
我得准备染料能够染上的材料。
I hope you were careful to wear gloves.
我希望你带了手套。
Yes. I know the danger with that dye.
是的，我知道那种染料存在危险。
Good. It can be extremely dangerous if it's ingested.
好的。如果不小心食用的话，它真的超级危险。
Now, presumably you had a look at an insect-based dye?
现在，你大概已经研究过了昆虫染料了吧？
Like cochineal, for example?
比如说，胭脂虫红？
Yes. I didn't actually make that,
是的。事实上我并没有做，
I didn't have time to start crushing up insects to get the red colour and anyway they're not available here.
因为我没有时间碾压昆虫来提取红色，而且这里没有胭脂虫。
But I managed to get the dye quite easily from a website. But it cost a fortune.
但是我能从一个网站上得到这种染料。但是很贵。
I can see why it's generally just used in cooking, and in small quantities.
我知道它为什么通常只用于烹饪了，而且量很小。
Yes, it's very effective, but that's precisely why it's not used as a dye.
是的，它非常有效，但是那可能是它没有用做一种染料的原因。
I also read about using metal oxide.
我还读了一些有关使用金属氧化物的书。
Apparently you can allow iron to rust while it's in contact with the fabric, and that colours it.
当铁和织物接触的时候，你可以让铁生锈，就会给织物上色。
Yes, that works well for dying cotton.
是的，这样给棉花染色挺好的。
But you have to be careful as the metal can actually affect the fabric
但是你得很小心，因为金属会影响织物，
and so you can't expect to get a lot of wear out of fabrics treated in this way.
所以你做很多使用这种方法制作的织物成衣。
And the colours are quite subtle, not everyone likes them.
而且颜色比较淡，不是所有人都喜欢。
Anyway, it looks as if you've done a lot of work. . .
但是，能看出来你做了很多工作...