About Natural Dyeing
About Natural Dyeing
Natural dyeing is the art of turning plants into color. This practice is ancient with a rich history in global trade, politics, and culture. While mostly forgotten since the invention of synthetic dyes, natural dyeing is deeply embedded in our everyday world in the form of folklore, clothing, politics, and even our understanding of color itself.
Human interesest in color is primordial. Before people were dying their clothes with natural color, they were using natural pigments to visually express themselves. Most famous are the cave paintings in the Cave of Altamira in Spain. These drawings depicting daily life, hunting, animals and more, are between 11,000 and 35,000 years old. The colors came from charcoal, ochre, and hematite. The artist used natural materials from their environment to create humanity's first artwork.
The first synthetic (created in a laboratory) color was created completely by accident in the mid 19th century. While on a mission to create a medication to treat malaria, William Henry Perkin accidentally created “mauve” purple. This sparked the exploration and creation of more synthetic colors that could replace natural dyes. Synthetic dyes are much simpler to use, and much less expensive, but terrible for the environment. Natural dyes eventually were phased out, and much of the information on how to cultivate and extract and dye has been forgotten. Today, natural dye is having a resurgence primarily driven within DIY culture out of a desire to find cleaner, more eco-conscious solutions.
There are four historic dyestuffs that I think sum up the history of color effectively. The history of indigo, madder root, cochineal, and Tyrian purple, tell the story of trade, culture, fashion, power, greed, slavery, and suffering.
Indigo is a green shrub with purple flowers and bean-shaped seed pods. The leaves, when fermented and dried, create an intense blue. It is no wonder that indigo is deeply connected to magic. Many cultures have myths about indigo that associate it with the moon, femininity, and fertility. The oldest record of indigo use is around 6,200 years old and was found in Peru. Ancient use of Indigo is also recorded in Egypt, India, and Japan. Indigo was traded all around the globe. Eventually, it was brought to the southern united states where it became a cash crop. Indigo is intimately connected to the slave trade and African diaspora.
Madder root is another plant that is famous for its red hue. Red is likely the most challenging color to create on fabric. It requires careful attention to detail and the following of complex recipes. There are two types of madder root for dyeing: Rubia cordifolia (Indian madder) and Rubia tinctoria (Turkish madder) Indian madder is more of a warm, earthy red while Turkish madder is slightly pinker. Madder root is most notably reminded of Indian Chintz cloth that was highly sought after worldwide, especially by the western market in the late 17th century.
Cochineal is an insect that thrives on the prickly pear plant. This insect has been highly coveted for centuries. Cultivated the prickly pear and harvesting these insects is an ancient practice. Interestingly, only the female insects produce a red color. The bugs are dried, ground into powder, and extracted to make dye. The Mayan and Aztec Civilizations civilization had deep spiritual connections o the color red. They created stunning, sophisticated, reds. Expert dyers made these intense reds to decorate clothes, homes, and religious spaces. The dye was extremely valuable, becoming a main export of Spain after the conquests of the Americas. Due to the destruction that comes with colonization, much of this indigenous knowledge and wealth has been lost.
Tyrian purple is perhaps the most famous and intriguing of the natural dye. This incredibly expensive dye is made from the secretions of a sea snail. Producing the dye takes incredible skill and labor. For this reason, this color was more expensive than gold and only allowed to be worn or used by royalty. Producing the dye has been a guarded secret. Want to purchase this dye? It costs between $2,500 and $4,000 per gram! As you could imagine, this color was extremely valuable and functioned important economic export. It was one of the main sources of wealth for 4th century Phoenicians and then the Romans.
Natural dyeing is a complex, multi-step process. First, plants are grown and processed into dyestuff. This dyestuff is then extracted to make a dye bath for the fiber or cloth to be dipped in. Before any dyeing can begin, fiber and fabric must be carefully prepared. Preparation is just as important as dyeing. Fiber must be washed thoroughly, and then mordanted. Mordanting is a process that uses alum to fix dye on the material. The process of extracting, mordanting, and dyeing can take between two weeks to a month or more.
Everything must be properly measured and controlled. The fiber must be carefully prepared and dyed to achieve the best results. Even the growth of the plants themselves must be exact. Unbalances in soil chemistry, sunlight, and water can all affect the quality of the color.
While highly scientific, this process has everyday applications. In a modern world that revolves around screens and machines, the opportunities to connect directly with nature are infrequent. Natural dye offers a space to slow down and re-acclimate yourself to the natural world. Natural dyeing has the power to create change for the better. It is anti-fast fashion. It goes against the grain of what has become normal in the textile and fashion industries. Natural dye appeals to the eco-conscious and DIY’ers of the world that are helping to drive the slow fashion movement. Slow fashion is the future. Designers are focused on sustainable production and creating exciting innovations using natural materials.
Natural dyeing is an opportunity to peer into the ancient world, where nature and folklore are central to daily experience. In this world, magic is not only real but powerful. Color is not only an everyday phenomenon, but a magical substance capable of great transformation.
