this post was submitted on 16 Jun 2024
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todayilearned
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This feels like a dumb question, but I'll ask it anyway - Why not just mix red & blue dyes?
I don't really have great knowledge on this topic but my understanding is that it wasn't just because it was purple, it was that the resulting purple dye was excellent; it was bright, beautiful and never faded. You can dye stuff purple with cabbage but it's just not a very good dye in those regards
I think it's because the colours are generated by a chemical reaction from e.g. woad (-> blue) or madder (-> red) which happen under different conditions.