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Home Page > Arts & Entertainment > Natural Dyes – Tips For Getting Bright Colours on Wool

Natural Dyes – Tips For Getting Bright Colours on Wool

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Posted: Aug 07, 2009 |Comments: 0
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I will share with you some secrets that I have learnt over the years on how you can get bright and strong colours with natural dyes. It is vital to both prepare the wool properly and to use tried and tested traditional natural dyes, such as woad, weld and madder etc. Chalk may help to brighten up some colours, whilst using rainwater is important for other colours. There are also a couple of easy tricks that you can use to get dark colours.

The wool

Some types of wool take colour better than others and white Blue-Faced Leicester wool is my favourite. Yarn is much easier to handle in the dye pot but you often get better dye penetration on clean fleece.

Knitted items, on the other hand, can be difficult to dye. You need about 10 litres of dye liquid for 100 grams of fibre and a 500 gram knitted jumper would, therefore, need a very large container.

Soaking

Whatever type of wool you use, it will benefit from being soaked in water for at least two hours. Soaking the wool opens up the fibres, making the wool easy to scour, mordant and dye; the fibre is also less likely to float at the top of the dye bath. Leaving the wool longer in the saucepan during any of the steps below can also help to produce darker colours.

Preparation

Failure to clean wool properly is one of the main reasons for not getting good colours from your dyes. Wool needs to be well scoured before it is dipped in the dye pot even if it has just been bought and looks clean. Scouring is much more than washing; when you scour you remove grease and oils from the fibre as well as dirt.

After scouring the wool needs to be mordanted. With the exception of woad and the indigos, most natural dyes do not adhere very well to the fibres and need the help of a mordant. A mordant is a chemical binding agent that adheres well to both the fibres and the dye. I use alum and cream of tartar to mordant wool.

The dyes

You will get much better colour if you use traditional natural dyes that have been tried and tested for hundreds of years. Tropical wood dyes such as brazilwood, logwood and fustic produce bright colours very easily. Cochineal is a very strong dye but it produces much brighter colours if you use rainwater.

Woad, weld and madder are some of the best European dyes. Madder likes hard water and adding a teaspoon of chalk to a madder dye bath makes for stronger reds. Chalk can also brighten wool dyed with weld considerably, changing it from a dull buff to an almost neon yellow.

It can be difficult to get dark blues with woad using a chemical vat as the Spectralite can strip the colour from the wool as fast as it is being deposited. The secret to very dark blues either with woad or indigo is to use a fermentation vat rather than a chemical vat.

Master dyers often build up the colour in layers. Rather than using a very strong dye bath, they re-mordant the wool after it has been dyed, and either put the wool back into the dye pot or over-dye it using another colour.

Proportions

Instead of using, for example, 100 gram of madder to 100 gram of wool to get red, you could try splitting the wool into three lots. Adding just the first batch to the dye bath made with 100 gram of madder should result in a very dark red. Take the first batch out and add the second batch. This way you end up with a gradation of very dark to light red, rather than an uniform medium red wool.

Easy tricks for dark colours

Adding a pinch of iron (as ferrous sulphate) at the end of the dye bath can darken the colours dramatically. Make sure you only use a pinch, as too much iron damages the fibres. It is also important to wash the wool well afterwards to remove all traces of iron.

The easiest way to get dark colours, however, is to start with dark wool. According to the British Coloured Sheep Breeders Association ‘when coloured wool is over-dyed it develops a depth of colour far beyond that achievable with white wool’. My favourite coloured wools are grey Jacob’s and brown Blue-Faced Leicester. This may give you the incentive to start exploring the wool of small and endangered breeds of sheep and even to start spinning.

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Teresinha Roberts -
About the Author:

Teresinha Roberts is a Brazilian-born textile artist specialising in natural dyes. She is regularly invited to talk to weavers, spinners & dyers, environmental and other groups. Visit our website at Wildcolours natural dyes today! to buy natural dyes & dye extracts and to learn more on how grow and use natural dyes.

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I have oily skin. please tell me some natural tips to fair my skin
Please suggest me some natural tips to controll blood pressure
Hi,im emma,16 yrs old & have a normal skin,not 2 dry or oily.i used 2 b very fair but bcoz of playing games,im very dark now.can u plz sugest me the best and the most effective natural tips 2 help

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natural dyes, wool, cochineal, woad, weld, madder, indigo, mordants, bright colours

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Wool
Wool fiber is produced from the fleece of lambs or
sheep.  Wool of carpet is imported from countries
such as England, Australia, and New Zealand.  Wool
is the oldest and considered to be the finest of
all carpet material.  

The ability of wool to stretch up to 40% of its
original length and the fact that it can be bent
back and forth more than 180,000 times without
breaking makes it very resilient.  Wool is the most
expensive material for carpet, although it is also
the best you can buy.

Silk
The fiber of silk is produced by the larva of
various insects known as silk worms. The silk, in
continuous lengths from 300 to 1600 yards is spun
to produce the cocoons.  As a fiber, silk is naturally
non flammable, strong, and not affected by static
charge problems – even at low humidity.

Cellulose fiber
This type of fiber is produced by plants and normally
not used as face yarns.  These types will however,
show up as backing materials of tufted as as well
as carpets that have been woven.

Cotton
Cotton is a vegetable seed fiber that is produced
from the cotton plant.  The primary use for this
fiber is yarns woven in carpet or rugs.  Cotton is
resistant to alkaline solutions and becomes stronger
when it is wet.

The biggest disadvantages to cotton is the fact
that is the most absorbent of all fibers and requires
extended drying times after being wet cleaned.  It
is also easily damaged by acids, stains easily,
mats down, soils quickly, and is subject to mildew,
dry rot, and shrinkage.

Jute
The fiber of jute is produced by the jute plant
which grows in South America, Pakistan, and even in
India.  The stalk of the jute plant is where the
longer coarse fibers are obtained, located between
the outer bark and within the inner pulp.

Jute is normally used as weft yarns, across the
width, in woven carpets and as a backing material
in the construction of tufted carpets.  Jute is an
inexpensive material that also serves other uses
than just carpet.  Like all other fibers, this one
has disadvantages as well. The fiber is weak when
it becomes wet and is also subject to dry rot,
shrinkage, and mildew.

Sisal
The fiber of sisal is produced by the leaves of the
agave plant.  Sisal is very strong and primarily
used for making rugs, sacking, rope, and even
carpet.  The fiber stains easily and is also very
difficult to clean.  Wet cleaning can also cause
shrinkage so its best to use low moisture methods.

Rayon
There is quite a bit of confusion about rayon and
it is easy to understand why.  Rayon is a
synthetic fiber that is produced from natural
cellulosic fibers of wood pulp or cotton.  The
material is put through several chemical treatments
which help to turn it into a synthetic fiber.

Primarily, rayon is used for area rugs because of
its silk like appearance.  It can be damaged by
acids, has low resistance to abrasion and is also
prone to cellulose browning.

A Persian Gabbeh rug is made by the Qashqai pastoral nomad tribe in southwestern Iran. They move with their sheep and goats around the city of Shiraz, to the north and to the south, in the Zagros Mountains, every winter and summer and they do this every year, no exception, to provide their animals with food. They travel up to 450 km per year on the most difficult route in Iran and each year the Qashqai families shear the sheep (a special breed which gives a particular kind of wool), they spin the wool and make yarns then they collect plants and herbs and make dyes; all 100% natural and they have done this for 2,300 years to make long pile rugs most of them to sleep on. You can surely draw the conclusion that they extremely comfortable, however, besides being very functional, a Persian Gabbeh rug will always represent a work of art.

The word ‘Gabbeh’ means unchanged, rough, natural, and this is exactly what these rugs are. Lots of designers say that a Persian Gabbeh rug is a form of naive art, because of its simplicity of patterns and colors. Qashqai nomads weave in patterns which resemble what they see around them; animals and humans, but in very simple geometrical forms; abstract patterns, rectangular objects or stripes can be found too. They are usually in bright colors of yellow, blue, red and light green to enliven their temporary homes and mirror the nomads’ imagination, therefore each of them are unique depictions of their workmanship.

Qashqai people use ergonomic horizontal looms which are suited to their always-moving life and the results are very thick (sometimes an inch deep), hard rugs, but very soft to the touch. Although the knot density is relatively small (the knot is symmetric Turkish), the pile is very thick, also some of them are flat-woven (for instance, Gabbeh Sumak and Baluch Sumak types). A Persian Gabbeh rug is dyed with natural colors, which are made after ancient recipes which involve roots and plants such as walnut husks, pomegranate skin, madder root and indigo. Many Gabbeh rugs seem dyed unevenly, but this is the result of the home-made colors which adhere differently to the wool yarns, nevertheless, this is what gives them their original rustic appearance so popular today, for all the recipes and techniques represent their cultural legacy and are unique in the world.

A Persian Gabbeh rug is extremely durable, so as time passes and with proper care, it can even grow more beautiful. It is recommended that you put an underlay between the floor and the Persian Gabbeh rug to avoid unnecessary erosion, you should also try to rotate the rug so as sunlight doesn’t affect the natural dye and finally avoid the accumulation of dirt, which can make the threads of the pile rot. Unfortunately countries like India, China, and Pakistan produce counterfeit carpets which are dyed chemically and produced industrially; these can be damaged more easily and are prone to rapid degradation.

In conclusion, a Persian Gabbeh rug is the perfect carpet for those who love the purity, originality and unspoiled traditions of this almost primitive people.

There are many causes for viginal yeast infections, some of the common ones are the use of antibiotics and steroids. These types of medications kill the acidophilus and lactobacillus bacteria that work to keep the yeast in balance in the body. Once the acidophilus and lactobacillus bacterium is killed, it’s prime time for the yeast to overgrow and leech into the bloodstream and throughout the body. This is when you’ll start to experience yeast infection signs and symptoms. Some of the other causes of yeast infection include, weak immune system, birth control pills, high sugar diet, high alcohol consumption, pregnancy, diabetes, and obesity.

The mouth, vagina, skin folds, diaper area, and arm pits are the most common locations for yeast candida overgrowth to show itself. This is because yeast thrives in warm, moist, and dark places. Those who are overweight can find yeast infections on the skin because of folds of skin. The excess weight also makes it common to find a yeast infection under the breast and lower abdomen. Yeast infections are most common in women and infants, but men can also have yeast infections. Penile yeast infections are not common but can occur if a sexual partner has a viginal yeast infection.

Yeast infection signs and symptoms will be different depending upon where the a yeast infection can thrive. With a recurrent vaginal yeast infection, the infected area will have an extreme itch, irritation, distinctive smell, and even a white cheesy discharge. Thrush, which is yeast candida overgrowth in the mouth, will also have pain associated with it and the throat. The tongue and checks will have white creamy milk like discharge which is difficult to wipe away. The last type of yeast infection known as a superficial yeast infection is one that occurs on the surface of the skin. This type of yeast infection will be seen as a red rash with scalloped edges. This type of rash is commonly found in the diaper area of infants and under skin folds.

Yeast infection treatment of these various areas use basically the same type of medication but in different forms. For the most common vaginal yeast infections treatment can be performed at home with over the counter anti fungal medication. Monistat and Femstat are two of the most common yeast infection home treatment for a recurrent vaginal yeast infection. A cream or ovule is placed in the vagina and left there for 1-7 days until the infection has cleared.

Yeast infection home treatment can also be done naturally without medication. Successful application of these various yeast infection treatments can be done for the greater part of all instances of a yeast infection. With the right natural yeast infection remedies you can effectively treat a yeast infection. Some simple and safe natural yeast infection remedies include the following three examples:

1. Eating garlic every day and also using this for external application (wrap garlic into cheesecloth before applying this externally for about 120 minutes). The characteristics of garlic are that it is a strong probiotic, antiseptic agent, also fighting bacteria and fungi, and reducing Candida back down to limited numbers while helping the friendly bacteria such as acidophilus and lactobacillus to get back into balance.

2. Ingesting and also applying externally, plain sheep or goat’s milk yogurt everyday. This yogurt should be unheated and sugar free, as well as organic.

3. Candida thrives in an acidic environment, when the acidity in the genital and intestinal parts and/or bloodstream are high, then yeast is encouraged to multiply. However, organic apple cider vinegar has an alkalizing characteristic that allows it to limit yeast candida overgrowth. Apple cider vinegar is different than most other vinegar types, it contributes to the reduction of the degree of acidity in the body. This leads to the restoration of the right level balance.

For it to be effective, make a solution of 2 tablespoons of organic apple cider vinegar per a quart of clean water to apply as a douche, or take a bath, using half a cup of this vinegar for each bath.

In a way it’s easier than you think as most of the well-known brands do not work, as you may well know, are extremely expensive and contain harmful chemicals. We are subjected to a daily bombardment of advertizing and stick-like models and eventually we end up believing the hype!

Let me show you how to get rid of age brown spots with ingredients that contain no harmful chemicals and in fact actually improve your overall health in the process.

The reason for these tiresome spots is an over production of the skins pigment melanin in one concentrated area. A substance called Extrapone Nutgrass has been shown in trials to reduce melanin by up to 40 %, helping to remove these brown spots and caring for your skin too.

It is for this lightening property that it is a popular ingredient in skin whitening creams too, as many people, Asian in particular, consider a pale complexion to be the best, rather than our constant striving for a tanned look here in the West.

Some other fantastic ingredients you may never have heard of are Cynergy TK, from New Zealand sheep’s wool, to boost your collagen levels and Phytessence wakame from Japanese sea kelp which is literally brimming with antioxidants, minerals and vitamins to drench your skin in goodness.

This is what skin care in the 21st century should be: natural and effective, delivering on its promises while actually benefitting your health from an enhanced immune system and delivery of vital nutrients. In doing this they also help to prevent spots, lines and wrinkles from returning again.

Now you know how to get rid of age brown spots using the right ingredients, you can finally start to look as young as you feel again.

Discover more amazing natural substances for your skin that you have probably never heard about at my website today.