LE26 - Ancient to Modern: Mexico’s Red Dye & the Most Exquisite Red Quilts

In the 16th century, a tiny insect created a frantic commodity rush for a color that was way more intense than the rush for two other colors: gold and silver. This one was rush for red. The best place to find the secret ingredient was in Oaxaca, Mexico, where Indigenous communities had been growing, harvesting, and producing red dye from the cochineal insect and using the precious dye in paper and textiles for centuries. When Europeans discovered it, the red rush was on. But credit goes to the ingenuity of the people of Mexico who invented this glorious dye that changed the world. Learn the ancient story of red dye in textiles and discover the most exquisite and incredible use of red in modern quilts today.