Step 1: Prepare fabric for dyeing: The scarf (8mm habotai, 72" long x 8"w) was first weighed to along with several others to determine the amount of mordant and dye required. It was then washed, rinsed, and left to soak at least 1 hour to relax the fibers prior to mordanting.

Step 2: Prepare mordant & apply to fabric: I dissolved in hot water alum equal to ¼ the fabric weight. This solution was then added to a pot of clean water and stirred. The wet fabric was transferred to mordant solution, stirred well & left overnight (10-12 hours). I checked several times to stir & make sure fabric remained entirely submerged. After rinsing and disposing of the spent mordant solution, the fabric was transferred to the dyepot. Note: it is faster to follow a 'hot mordanting' process; heat can cause damage to silk.

Step 3: Extract the dye.Weld was soaked overnight, then simmered for about 1 hour in hard water (chalk added). The dye was strained several times into a large pot of clear water. For indigo I use freeze-dried crystals, which only need to be added to hot water and carefully stirred.

Step 4: Dye the fabric. Following instructions from the Plictho, I first dyed in weld to obtain a strong yellow base color. The scarf was added to the dyebath, and worked constantly for around 20-30 mins while the temperature was slowly raised to 150 degrees F. After cooling, washing & rinsing, it was later overdyed with one trip through the indigo (which behaves just like a normally fermented vat as far as oxidation goes). I still find it difficult to get even results dyeing fabric in indigo. The scarf was then washed with Ph neutral soap, rinsed again, hung up to dry & later ironed.

· Why aren't scarves typically seen in period English women's portraits? The most commonly seen accessories in women's portraits are handkerchiefs, gloves & fans, all of which are interpreted as "marriage accessories" (Green, 1088) that show off both the wealth of the sitter and their marital status. Scarves are not an icon of marriage, and therefore less likely to appear in portraits. There is one portrait type of the Queen that shows her wearing a very narrow yellow silk scarf (ie, the Yale Portrait, Arnold pg. 26) that is too wide to be called a ribbon.

· What pother proof is there that Elizabethan women wore silk scarves? Scarves are listed as New Year's gifts to Queen Elizabeth in 1577-8, 1578-9, 1588-89, and 1599-1600. Materials included network, sarcenet (lightweight taffeta), lawn, cypress, & an undefined 'cloth,' probably wool. These items are clearly differentiated from similar accessories, such as veils and mufflers. Digby cites a single surviving embroidered scarf about 10 ft long (91). The de Bryun costume book (dated prior to 1587) shows an Englishwoman with a long & narrow fluttering silk scarf. Finally, scarves are portrayed in at least 2 period paintings showing women outdoors, Joris Hoefnagel's Fete at Bermondsey from ca. 1570, (the 2nd and 4th women on the left carry scarves) and an anonymous artist's A Gentleman of the Delves Family, aged 40 (ca. 1577--see illustration). This last is russet color, worn tied to the woman's wrist, and is clearly edged with lace.

· Would this be dyed at home, or by a professional? By a professional in all likelihood, due to the use of silk and the combination of two very different types of dyes. Professional dyers tended to specialize in color ranges, with indigo dyers working separately from those working with reds (for example). (Woad, weld & alum were both produced in England & imported, BTW)

Anon. (1561-1562; 1577-1578; 1578-1579; 1588-1589; 1599-1600) New Year's Gifts to Queen Elizabeth, transcribed by Karen Larsdattir from The Progresses and Public Processions of Queen Elizabeth, http://geocities.com/karen_larsdatter/gifts/

Betty, J.H. (1978). "The cultivation of woad in the Salisbury area during the late 16th and 17th Centuries." Textile History, 9, 112-117.

Betty, J.H. (1982). "The production of alum and cooperas in Southern England." Textile History, 13(1), 91-95.

Brunello, Franco (1973). The Art of Dyeing in the History of Mankind. English translation by Pheonix Dyeworks, Cleveland, Ohio.

Dean, Jenny (1999). Wild Color: The Complete Guide to Making and Using Natural Dyes. New York: Watson-Guptill Publications.

De Bruyn, Abraham ( before 1587). Omnium pene Europae, Asiae, Aphricae atque Americae Genitum Habitus. LACMA, AC1997.164 1a-bbb, available for viewing online at http://www.lacma.org.

Digby, George Winfield (1963). Elizabethan Embroidery. London: Faber & Faber.

Green, Juana (2000). "The Sempster's Wares: Merchandising and Marrying in the Fair Maid of Exchange (1607)," Renaissance Quarterly, 53(4), 1084-1118.

Hearn, Karen, ed. (1995). Dynasties: Painting in Tudor & Jacobean England. New York: Rizzoli.

Lee, Raymond L. (1951). "American cochineal in European commerce, 1526-1625." Journal of Modern History, 23(3), 205-224.

Liles, JN (1990). The Art and Craft of Natural Dyeing: Traditional Recipes for Modern Use. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press.

Philip, William (1596). A Booke of Secrets. London: Adam Islip for Edward White. [This is a 16th C collection of dye recipes and instructions for stain removal.]

Rosetti, Gioanventura (1548) The Plictho of Gioanventura Rosetti: Instructions in the Art of the Dyers which Teaches the Dyeing of Woolen Cloths, Linens, Cottons, and Silk by the Great Art as Well as by the Common. Reprint by S. M. Edelstein and HC Borghettym, trans. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1969.

Stubbes, Phillip (1583) The anatomie of abuses… London: By [John Kingston for] Richard Iones