Name: Zubair 

Message: hi, I am a student of textile design and i have developed a lot of interest in natural dyes. Like any new dyer my primary concern is the fastness of the color and although I have read the answer you gave for one such question but still I want to know what dyes are more peremanent than others. I have planned to do natural dyes on bedsheets and cushions in silk for my internship project. The project is in August and I want to learn whatever I can through trial and error.

I think a good start for you would be to buy J.N Liles' 1990 book, The Art and Craft of Natural Dyeing: Traditional Recipes for Modern Use, ISBN 978-0870496707, which gives detailed, updated recipes for many different natural dyes and mordants, on different fibers including silk. There is no point in trying to recreate all of the years of work that experts in natural dyeing have already invested; better to start with a knowledge of what others have accomplished, and then build on top of that. Note that this book will not blow you away with beautiful pictures, like some popular books on natural dyeing, but there are many more recipes, and the information is more reliable than that in some of the more decorative illustrated guides.

There are many different natural dyes in the world, but most of them will be less washfast than the best synthetic alternatives. (See About Natural Dyes.) However, some natural dyes are very washfast, when applied correctly to mordanted fabrics. Their cost is far higher than the cost of synthetic dyes, but people often prefer the idea of natural dyes. The very best natural dyes include indigo for blue (which is available in both natural and synthetic forms, identical except for source), cochineal for red and pink, logwood for black and purple, madder for reds and oranges, cutch for brown, brazilwood for reds and pinks, and quercitron for yellow.

Natural dyes are very expensive, compared to synthetic dyes, because large amounts of most dyestuffs are required. A typical recipe calls for two to three pounds of dyestuff to dye one pound of fiber. Indigo and cochineal are sold as concentrates, so far smaller amounts of these two dyes are required. Cochineal is a wonderful red dye made from cactus insects. It is also sold as the natural red food dye carmine; many red foods are colored with the ground-up bodies of cochineal insects.

Mordants are a very important consideration. Few natural dyes will last through washing when applied to unmordanted fabrics. The only natural dye that is very lightfast and washfast that can be used without mordant is indigo, which is a vat dye that must be applied in a reducing bath (low in oxygen). Indigo is a wonderful dye which requires different techniques than other classes of dye; it is less fast when applied incorrectly. All other classes of natural dyes show improved fastness when applied to mordanted fabrics. Mordants are more dangerous than the synthetic fiber reactive dyes that are commonly used for hand dyeing. Alum is the only mordant (besides tannin for cotton) which is not horribly toxic, but even it has produced some fatalities; the fatal dose of alum mordant is about one ounce for an adult, or a few grams for a child. Other mordants, such as copper, iron, tin, and chrome, can produce a wider range of colors and enhanced lightfastness and washfastness, but they can be quite dangerous to use due to the toxicity of the metal ions. Chrome, in particular, is known for producing brilliant yellows, but it is a known human carcinogen which has caused a number of deaths and serious illnesses among workers who use it industrially. I do not recommend the use of chrome as a mordant. Even copper and iron, which sound harmless to us since they are nutritional necessities, are very dangerous in their pure form, easily able to cause fatalities if misused, but they can be safely used by those who are careful and follow good recipes.

There are books available on growing your own plants for use as natural dyes, but how useful they will be depends on what climate you live in, and you will not have time to grow your own dyeplants before your project is due. You will need to find a supplier for the dyeplants and mordants you wish to use. In the US, I recommend that you look at Aurora Silk and at Earthues. I do not know much about natural dye suppliers in other countries, but recommend that you look at my page of Sources for Dyeing Supplies Around the World. Even if the companies listed do not sell the materials you need, they will probably be able to tell you who does. 

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