TUTOR: So what natural dyes did you look at?

导师：那么你在考虑哪些天然染料?

JIM: Well, one was turmeric.

吉姆：嗯，一个是姜黄，

The colour's great, it's a really strong yellow.

颜色很好，是一种很深的黄色。

It's generally used in dishes like curry.

它通常用于像咖喱这样的菜肴中。

TUTOR: It's meant to be quite good for your health when eaten, but you might find it's not permanent when it's used as a dye - a few washes, and it's gone.

导师：食用时，它似乎对你的健康很好，但你可能会发现用作染料时，它不是永久性的，经过几次冲洗，它就掉色了。

JIM: Right. I used beetroot as a dye for wool.

吉姆：是的。我用甜菜根作羊毛的染料。

When I chop up beetroot to eat I always end up with bright red hands, but the wool ended up just a sort of watery cream shade. Disappointing.

当我切甜菜根吃的时候，我的手总是红彤彤的，但是羊毛最后变成了一种稀奶油色。令人失望。

TUTOR: There's a natural dye called Tyrian purple.

导师：有一种叫做泰尔红紫的天然染料。

Have you heard of that?

你听说过吗?

JIM: Yes. It comes from a shellfish, and it was worn in ancient times but only by important people as it was so rare.

吉姆：听说过。它来自一种贝类，在古代因为它非常罕见，只有重要人物才能穿这种颜色。

I didn't use it.

我没有用过它。

TUTOR: It fell out of use centuries ago, though one researcher managed to get hold of some recently.

导师：几个世纪前它不用了，尽管最近一位研究人员设法找到了一些。

But that shade of purple can be produced by chemical dyes nowadays.

但是现在那种紫色的色度可以用化学染料染出来。

Did you use any black dyes?

你用过黑色染料吗?

JIM: Logwood. That was quite complicated.

吉姆：洋苏木。这种染料使用相当复杂。

I had to prepare the fabric so the dye would take.

我需要提前处理好布料，这样染料才能上色。

TUTOR: I hope you were careful to wear gloves.

导师：我希望你小心，要戴手套。

JIM: Yes. I know the danger with that dye.

吉姆：好的。我知道那种染料有危险。

TUTOR: Good. It can be extremely dangerous if it's ingested.

导师：很好。如果你摄入它，会非常危险。

Now, presumably you had a look at an insect-based dye?

现在，也许你考虑过一种昆虫染料?

Like cochineal, for example?

比如说胭脂红?

JIM: Yes. I didn't actually make that, I didn't have time to start crushing up insects to get the red colour and anyway they're not available here, but I managed to get the dye quite easily from a website.

吉姆：是的。我并没有做那个，我没有时间去碾碎昆虫来得到那种红色，这不容易实现，但是我很容易地从一个网站上得到了染料。

But it cost a fortune.

但它花了我一大笔钱。

I can see why it's generally just used in cooking, and in small quantities.

我可以理解为什么人们只在烹饪中少量地使用这种染料了。

TUTOR: Yes, it's very effective, but that's precisely why it's not used as a dye.

导师：是的，它非常有效的，但这正是为什么不被用作染料的原因。

JIM: I also read about using metal oxide.

吉姆：我也读过关于使用金属氧化物的相关读物。

Apparently you can allow iron to rust while it's in contact with the fabric, and that colours it.

很明显，当铁接触织物时，会让它生锈，从而使织物变色。

TUTOR: Yes, that works well for dying cotton.

导师：是的，它适用于染棉质织物。

But you have to be careful as the metal can actually affect the fabric and so you can't expect to get a lot of wear out of fabrics treated in this way.

但是你必须小心，因为金属会影响织物，所以不要期待通过这种方法染出的织物的还能很耐用。

And the colours are quite subtle, not everyone likes them.

并且织物的颜色很微妙，不是每个人都喜欢。

Anyway, it looks as if you've done a lot of work ...

总之，看起来你做了很多工作……