textiles2

Dyeing

Nature's own fleece colours can be blended to make shades of wool from dark brown to white with all the shades of grey and beige in between, but any other colours have to be achieved by dyeing a white fleece ~ brown and black fleeces do not accept dyes well.

The natural and vegetable dyes which were all that was available in the 17th Century are not as colour fast as modern dyes, and much more prone to fading, by light and by the washing process. Some dyes give best results on wool and some on linen.

Before dyeing wool needs a mordant ~ a chemical agent to help the fibres absorb the dye. Alum was the most common but if the dye bath is made of iron adding soda would mean the pot itself became the mordant.

Dyers were very protective of their recipes, so there were colour variations from region to region. Royal Purple or Tyrian Purple comes from a shellfish and was first used by the Ancient Carthaginians ~ more than 8,500 molluscs were needed to obtain 1g of colour.

Kernes ~ made from crushed insects found on a species of oak tee was discovered in Neolithic times and is referred to in the Old Testament Bible as scarlet.

Madder ~ the most common red plant dye was first cultivated by the Egyptians.

Saffron is the deep yellow colour obtained at great expense from the eastern crocus and more cheaply at home from safflower.

Indigo was probably introduced by Marco Polo (1254 - 1324) and contains the pigment indigotin which is also found in woad. Like many dyestuffs it needs special treatment before it can be used ~ in this case fermentation.

Wool can be dyed after washing as a fleece or later as a spun fibre or as cloth. The expression "dyed in the wool" refers to the process of dyeing wool before weaving which gives a better penetration of the pigment and a more unchanging colour.

"To Dye Linnen Thread Blew

For every six pound of thread, take half an Ounce of Allom, five Ounces of Tarter, two quarts of sharpe Lye, and as soon as it boils, put in your thread and let it soak therein four Hours, then rince or pass through fresh water.

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And afterwards Dye it Blew:

With a Pound of boiled Brownwood, three quarters of an Ounce of Verdigrease Pulverized, one Quart of SharpLye, two Ox or Cowes Galls, half an Ounce of Calcined Tartar; half an Ounce of Calcined White Vitriol; put in the thread at twice, so that you may dye it light or deep at pleasure, and then the thread having first Lain two Hours in the Woad Lye, it must be rinced Clean. If it be put in this Dye when it is cold, it becomes much brighter and blewer than when it is boiling hot. But the most lasting Dye for thread is performed with Woad: But if you would dye it in the Indigo Copper, you ought to use the same preparation Suds as this Dye, and the colour will be durable; and lastly, the thread Dyed with Indigo, ought to be rinced through warm Water, in order to give it better lustre."

© The Society of the Open Rope, all content, photographs and text.

This page courtesy of Chris Haggis.

The Society of the Open Rope

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And afterwards Dye it Blew: