Inking and Dyeing: Adding a Dash of Creativity
Dyeing was a large part of colonial America. It was seen as a way to stand out, and flaunt one's wealth. The more color you had in your clothing signified how rich you were and therefore how much influence you had within your society. Both men and women used dyes in their clothing, with the men dyeing three-piece suits and women dyeing their corsets and dresses. The bolder, more saturated colors, the better. Due to the demand, settlers began to seek out plants to help create dyes, such as walnuts, turmeric, logwood, and cochineal.
At one point, settlers even experimented with tobacco, but found it wasn’t as profitable as a dye. While many crops were leveraged for dyeing, none of them were more important than the indigo plant. The leaves of the indigo plant give off a rich deep blue color that, after properly processed, was highly desirable. With the rich in colonial America demanding it, the plant became a massive cash crop in the south. Eventually, demand for indigo reached such a fever pitch that it was exported and sent around the world.
Given the weight that dyes had on colonial America, we recently implemented dyeing into Echoes of the Plum Grove. This element of the colonial time period gives more authenticity to our game, and it also allows the player more freedom for creative expression and personalization.
While we know you’re probably eager to get started dyeing your clothes immediately, the road to achieving a beautifully dyed outfit will be tough. You will have to forage for dye-able items, such as walnuts, madder, and bark from the logwood tree. Also, if you want to dye your clothing a certain color then you’ll need to procure certain items. For example, if you’re looking to turn your shoes brown then you’ll need to find the husk of walnuts, which can only be found during the fall season.
To create certain colors, such as blue or orange, you’ll need to grow dye plants. To get seeds to grow them, you must buy them from the ships that pass through Honeywood. The seeds you can buy will also depend on the season. As it was difficult to obtain dyes in the colonial period, so too will it be for you as a player.
So you may now be wondering...what’s next? Well, we’re hard at work on some other cool features to add to the game, so follow us on social media @UnwoundGames to stay up to date on the latest news and feature updates!
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