HILLTOP SPINNING and WEAVING CENTRE

Established in 1990

POSTED Saturday, February 4, 2012

PROPRIETORS: SUE & BILL CHITTY

The following text has been taken from Wikipedia’s web pages on dyes. It’s a bit technical but there is good background information here. Below the text are some basic dyeing ground rules that we have found to be practical.

 

A dye can generally be described as a coloured substance that has an affinity to the substrate to which it is being applied. The dye is generally applied in an aqueous solution, and may require a mordant to improve the fastness of the dye on the fibre.

 

Both dyes and pigments appear to be coloured because they absorb some wavelengths of light preferentially. In contrast with a dye, a pigment generally is insoluble, and has no affinity for the substrate. Some dyes can be precipitated with an inert salt to produce a lake pigment, and based on the salt used they could be aluminium lake, calcium lake or barium lake pigments.

 

Archaeological evidence shows that, particularly in India and the Middle East, dyeing has been carried out for over 5000 years. The dyes were obtained from animal, vegetable or mineral origin, with no or very little processing. By far the greatest source of dyes has been from the plant kingdom, notably roots, berries, bark, leaves and wood, but only a few have ever been used on a commercial scale.

 

Organic dyes - The first human-made (synthetic) organic dye, mauveine, was discovered by William Henry Perkin in 1856. Many thousands of synthetic dyes have since been prepared.

 

Synthetic dyes quickly replaced the traditional natural dyes. They cost less, they offered a vast range of new colours, and they imparted better properties upon the dyed materials. Dyes are now classified according to how they are used in the dyeing process.

 

Acid dyes are water-soluble anionic dyes that are applied to fibres such as silk, wool, nylon and modified acrylic fibres using neutral to acid dyebaths. Attachment to the fibre is attributed, at least partly, to salt formation between anionic groups in the dyes and cationic groups in the fibre. Acid dyes are not substantive to cellulosic fibres. Most synthetic food colours fall in this category. See Hilltop - Easy Peasy Dyes for wool and silk.

 

Natural dyes or Mordant dyes require a mordant, which improves the fastness of the dye against water, light and perspiration. The choice of mordant is very important as different mordants can change the final colour significantly. Most natural dyes are mordant dyes and there is therefore a large literature base describing dyeing techniques. The most important mordant dyes are the synthetic mordant dyes, or chrome dyes, used for wool; these comprise some 30% of dyes used for wool, and are especially useful for black and navy shades. The mordant, potassium dichromate, is applied as an after-treatment. It is important to note that many mordants, particularly those in the heavy metal category, can be hazardous to health and extreme care must be taken in using them.

See Hilltop - Natural Dyes.

 

Vat dyes are essentially insoluble in water and incapable of dyeing fibres directly. However, reduction in alkaline liquor produces the water soluble alkali metal salt of the dye, which, in this leuco form, has an affinity for the textile fibre. Subsequent oxidation reforms the original insoluble dye. The colour of denim is due to indigo, the original vat dye.  

See Hilltop - Indigo Dye Kit and Woad Seed & Dye Kit.

 

Reactive dyes utilize a chromophore attached to a substituent that is capable of directly reacting with the fibre substrate. The covalent bonds that attach reactive dye to natural fibres make them among the most permanent of dyes. "Cold" reactive dyes, such as Procion MX, Cibacron F, and Drimarene K, are very easy to use because the dye can be applied at room temperature. Reactive dyes are by far the best choice for dyeing cotton and other cellulose fibres at home or in the art studio.

See Hilltop - Cotton Dye Kit.

 

 

OUR DYEING GROUND RULES

 

Always dye to exhaust. This means using all the dyebath’s colour and mordant.

 

Never pick wild flowers to dye with.

 

Natural dyes and mordants can be toxic, handle with care.

 

Never use dyeing equipment for preparing food.

 

Always dye more fibre than you think you need for a project.

 

Keep a record of how a colour was achieved and a sample of it.