To Dye or Not to Dye?A small range of what’s possible in dye colors

Lady Clare O Tarran, Barony of Dragon’s Mist, Kingdom of An Tir (rangertam@gmail.com)

Dyeing natural fibers with natural materials can be a daunting idea, but it doesn’t have to be hard. The main trick is pretty much accepting the fact that you are going to be creating a rainbow, and the only way to make the exact same shade twice, would be to dye both items at the same time. The color and shade you get is dependent on the softness or hardness of the water, what chemicals you add before or after dyeing (known as mordants and modifiers), what dye material you are using (this can be plants, lichens, mushrooms and even dried beetles), how old that material is and how much water, mordants, modifiers and dye material is being used. If you like to get the same result every time, this may not be the hobby you are looking for. If you like to experiment and get unexpected results, you are in the right place!

A Colored History:

The earliest use of color was paint used in cave paintings. Somewhere along the way, someone probably got the paint on their clothing and discovered that the clothing could be made to change

color. After that, it was just a matter of using what was available and trying different things.

Since it takes time and effort to dye fabric, the poorest wore undyed fibers. Those who were not the poorest, but not well to do, often had garments that were faded with time. One showed one’s wealth by wearing the brightest colors and those colors which were the costliest to make. This varies throughout history, but orchil purple, cochineal red, indigo blue and black are generally what comes to mind.

As far back as the Viking Age, plants such as weld, woad, madder, bedstraw, walnut, heather and broom were used as dye materials to dye animal

fibers. There is a big difference between dyeing Figure 1. Extant textile examples from Hallstatt, an Iron Age salt mined in Austria.

Source: http://dressid.nhm-wien.ac.at/textile_d.html

animal and plant fibers, but more on that later. We can tell what plants were used by doing chemical tests on extant samples. Several lichen species were popular for achieving pinks and purples, as was the dog whelk snail. Cochineal came from dried beetles, and gave red, as did another insect called kermes. Club moss was a natural source of alum, a mordant. Iron and copper were used as mordants by using dye pots made of those materials. Tannin was used as a pH modifier, and came possibly from oak galls (round growths on oak leaves in response to a pathogen introduced by a wasp). Shells were a source of another modifier, calcium carbonate. While it can’t be proven that mushrooms were used as dye materials throughout much of history, there isn’t any evidence to the contrary either. Colors that were considered valuable had their sources carefully guarded so that those who traded dye materials could keep a monopoly on their product.

The range of use of a particular dye depended on climate and exportability. Ancient Romans favored various shellfish that yielded a color known as Tyrian purple or Imperial Purple. It was highly prized because thousands of individuals were needed to dye one garment. This is where we get the notion that purple is a color for royalty. An alternative that was less colorfast (i.e. prone to fading) were lichens. They also used similar dyes to the Vikings, as well as saffron (native to the area) and turmeric (imported from Asia). Anglo Saxons also used similar dye plants to the Vikings, as well as their own local species of lichens that differed from that of the far north.

With the start of the Middle Ages (1066), Tyrian purple dye became much reduced in use due to a lack of shellfish and people began to use more of the shield-lice living on the Kermes oak. Today it is also hard to obtain. More trade routes opened up and more dye options became readily available. Yellows were obtained from pomegranate, fustic from young sumac, and more saffron. Reds came from sanderswood, and sappanwood (similar to the New World’s brazilwood). Alum was being sourced from the Mediterranean as a mineral instead of from plants. In the 14th century came the arrival of the insect dye lac, and indigo. Master dyers wrote their increasingly complex recipes down in books and jealously guarded their secrets. Britain virtually held a monopoly on scarlet red, and Flanders was known for its green dye.

Figures 2&3 Samples of dye colors using materials that would have been available during the Viking era Source: http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=54737

Once trading across the sea became more prevalent, logwood and brazilwood came into use as well as other insect species that would yield the carminic acid needed for cochineal.

Some Notes on Dyeing Before We Get Started:

The first thing to mention, as was said before, is that there is a big difference mordanting and dyeing animal (commonly wool, angora, silk, alpaca or mohair) and vegetable fibers (usually cotton or linen or a blend). Vegetable fibers don’t take dye very well by themselves. It is important to use a mordant, typically alum, and let the fibers dry completely after mordanting before being put in the dye bath. Do not rinse the fibers after mordanting, because the mordant is really what the dye is sticking to the most. Take it from someone who has learned this the hard way! If you are going to dye vegetable fibers, either practice dyeing with animal fibers first or work with someone with experience in dyeing vegetable fibers. Good modern instructions for both animal and vegetable fibers can be found in Jenny Dean’s Wild Color. Historically, people would have probably done trial and

error to find colors they liked and noted what they used. They also cooked outside over an open flame (try it if you want, I prefer the convenience of my kitchen) and had designated pots only for dyeing.

This brings me to…SAFETY. Unless you are only using food safe dyes and mordants, NEVER use a dye pot that is also a cooking pot. In fact, nothing you use in dyeing should be used with food. I have a separate stir spoon, tongs, strainer, funnel, cleaning sponge, rubber cleaning gloves and steel pots of various sizes. You should also do your dyeing in a ventilated area with a fan on if possible. Rubber gloves and safety goggles are advised, especially if you are working with more poisonous mordants such as tin or chrome. Stainless steel pots are the best for dyeing, unless you want to use a pot of a particular metal to achieve a certain color. If you use iron or copper pots, expect that some will leak into the dye bath. Make sure everything is labelled correctly and keep notes about what you use for each dye bath. A five pound postal scale that does ounces and grams is a valuable investment to make. Other than that, a lot of your cookware can be picked up cheaply at thrift shops. My funnel is from the automotive aisle and it was cheap and large!

Mordanting Wool:

There are several ways to go about mordanting animal fibers. The basic way I use most is as follows. The procedure will vary slightly with different weights depending on what mordants and modifiers. There are whole books about that, if you wish to go more in depth down the road.

Figure 4 Viking reeenactor dyeing cloth with natural materials Source: http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=54737

1) Weigh your fiber while dry. This important because the amounts of mordants, modifiers and dye materials is based on this weight.

2) Choose a pot big enough so that your fibers have room to move and soak your fibers anywhere from a few hours to overnight. I like to squeeze out air bubbles to help the process along. The longer it soaks, the better. This will help the mordant adhere more evenly.

3) If you have access to cream of tartar, weigh out enough cream of tartar to be 7% the weight of the dry fiber and the alum to be 8% (for copper sulfate use 2% fiber weight as well as 5% vinegar, for iron aka ferrous sulfate use 2% fiber weight) . This is best done by putting a jar of hot water on your postal scale, zero out the scale and adding the powder to the water. This is to minimize powder in the air. Put the cap on the jar, shake it well to start the powders dissolving and dump that water in your pot of fiber.

4) Heat the pot on the stove on low until the water is simmering, but not boiling. Simmer for an hour and then let the fibers cool in the pot. Try not to move the fibers too much, as this will cause the fibers to felt together.

5) When the pot is cool, you can rinse your fibers. You can let your fibers dry before dyeing but if you do, it’s best to let them soak again for a while so the dye can get in the fiber as much as possible. If you store your mordanted fibers for a while, remember to label them!

6) Safety Note: I have found that larger pots are safe on the stove unwatched on low as the volume is being heated too slowly to boil. However, I recommend setting a timer so you don’t forget it is on the stove and also checking it every so often. Turn your stove fan on if you have one. If you used mordants that are heavy metals like chrome or tin, do not dispose of the water down the sink, but rather bottle them and find a resource for toxic waste disposal. This is why most people don’t dye with chrome or tin.

Dyeing Wool:

The amount of dye materials you need depends on the form of the dye material. If you bought a concentrated powder from a supplier, you will need less by weight then if you collected and dried wild material. The more dye material you have, and the longer the fibers sit in the dye pot, the more bright your colors will be. Of course, you may not want a bright color and that’s fine. You can use less dye materials or even reuse a dye pot several times, with each subsequent batch being lighter and lighter.

1) Fill your pot with about as much water as you used for mordanting and add the dye material.

Figure 5. My madder dyepot when I dyed my linen/cotton blend kirtle

2) Heat on low to a simmer. The longer you simmer the pot, the more dye you will get out of the material. For smaller samples, I can get good results in a matter of minutes but for full yarn skeins, I prefer at least a half hour to an hour. Don’t let the water boil, this will alter your color. On the other hand, this could be fun, I once accidentally made black this way.

3) You can put your yarn in now, but for some materials you may want to cool down the liquid and strain it through a cloth before adding the fiber and reheating for another hour. Brazilwood has small spurs that adhere to the fiber and are difficult to remove. Dyes that come in a powdered form are often not completely soluble in water, and the powder may be difficult to remove later (advice: let fiber dry and shake it outside or over a bathtub).

4) Let your dyed fibers cool in the pot, then remove and rinse while wearing gloves (some dyes will stain your hands VERY well). Hang to dry in a safe place and LABEL YOUR FIBERS!

Note: You can also extract the dye and then add the mordant and the fiber in the pot together, to make the process quicker. You will probably have slightly different results since the mordant is coating the fibers at the same time as the dye. Neither way is wrong, just different. Understanding how separate steps of mordanting and dyeing works is important if you are going to also dye vegetable fibers.

Disclaimer: This is a basic overview of dyeing and is by no means a comprehensive study. For more sources, check out the bibliography. For even more sources, check out those book’s bibliographies. Happy dyeing!

Bibliography (I most use the titles in bold):

1) Adrosko, Rita J., and Margaret Smith Furry. Natural Dyes and Home Dyeing (formerly Titled: Natural Dyes in the United States). New York: Dover Publications, 1971. Print.

2) Arora, D. 1991. All That the Rain Promises and More. Ten Speed Press, Berkeley, California.

3) Bemiss, Elijah. The Dyers Companion in Two Parts : Part First, Containing a General Plan of Dying Wool and Woollen, Cotton and Linen Cloths, Yarn and Thread : Also, Directions for Milling and Finishing, Stamping and Bleaching Cloths : Part Second Contains Many Useful Rec. 2nd ed. New York: Published by E. Duyckinck, 1815. Print.

4) Bessette, Arleen Rainis, and Alan Bessette. The Rainbow beneath My Feet: A Mushroom Dyer's Field Guide. Syracuse, N.Y.: Syracuse UP, 2001. Print.

5) Bolton, Eileen M. Lichens for Vegetable Dyeing. Newton Centre, Mass.: C. T. Bradford, 1960. Print.

6) Bronson, J., and R. Bronson. Early American Weaving and Dyeing: The Domestic Manufacturer's Assistant and Family Directory in the Arts of Weaving and Dyeing. New York: Dover Publications, 1977. Print.

7) Buchanan, Rita. A Weaver's Garden. Loveland, Colo.: Interweave, 1987. Print.8) Burgess, Rebecca, and Paige Green. Harvesting Color: How to Find Plants and Make

Natural Dyes. New York: Artisan, 2011. Print.9) Casselman, Karen Leigh. Lichen Dyes: The New Source Book. 2nd Rev. ed. Mineola,

N.Y.: Dover, 2001. Print.10) Cannon, John F. M., and Margaret J. Cannon. Dye Plants and Dyeing. Portland, Or.:

Timber, 2003. Print.11) Crook, Jackie, and Geraldine Christy. Natural Dyeing. New York: Lark, 2007. Print. 12) Davidson, Mary Frances. The Dye-Pot. 3rd ed. Gatlinburg: Self-published, 1967. Print. 13) Dean, Jenny. A Heritage of Colour: Natural Dyes past and Present. Tunbridge Wells:

Search Limited, 2014. Print.14) Dean, Jenny. Jenny Dean’s Wild Colour. Blog. 2014. http://www.jennydean.co.uk/15) Dean, Jenny. Wild Color: The Complete Guide to Making and Using Natural Dyes.

Rev. and Updated Ed., 1st Rev. U.S. ed. New York: Watson-Guptill, 2010. Print.16) Duerr, Sasha. The Handbook of Natural Plant Dyes: Personalize Your Craft with

Organic Colors from Acorns, Blackberries, Coffee, and Other Everyday Ingredients. Portland, Or.: Timber, 2010. Print.

17) Dyer, Anne. Dyes from Natural Sources. U.S. ed. Newton Centre, Mass.: C.T. Bradford, 1976. Print.

18) Gelligaer, Gwynydd ni. Compleat Anachronist. #41 Dyestuffs. 1989. Print.19) Grae, Ida. Nature's Colors; Dyes from Plants. New York: Macmillan, 1974. Print.20) Green, Judy. Natural Dyes from Northwest Plants. McMinnville, Or. : Robin and Russ

Handweavers. 1975. Print.21) Gunderson, Kristina. Viking Age Dyes: An Overview. 2013.

https://www.academia.edu/4652690/Viking_Age_Dyes-_A_Brief_Overview.22) Gunderson, Kristina. Viking Age Dyes: Excerpt from Tournaments Illuminated. Issue

191. Third Quarter, 2014. https://www.academia.edu/8082217/Viking_Age_Dyes_Excerpt_from_Tournaments_Illuminated_191.

23) Kramer, Jack. Natural Dyes, Plants & Processes. New York: Scribner, 1972. Print.24) Krupp, Christina (Marieke Van de Dal). Compleat Anachronist. #129 From Woad to

Blue. 2005. Print.25) Lambert, Eva, and Tracy Kendall. The Complete Guide to Natural Dyeing: Techniques

and Recipes for Dyeing Fabrics, Yarns, and Fibers at Home. Loveland, CO: Interweave, 2010. Print.

26) Leggett, William F. Ancient and Medieval Dyes. Landisville, Pennsylvania: Coachwhip Publications, 1944. Print.

27) Mairet, Ethel M. Vegetable Dyes; Being a Book of Recipes and Other Information Useful to the Dyer, London: Faber and Faber, 1938. Print.

28) McGrath, Judy Waldner. Dyes from Lichens & Plants. Toronto: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1977. Print.

29) Rice, Miriam C., and Dorothy M. Beebee. Mushrooms for Color. 2d ed. Eureka, Cal.: Mad River, 1980. Print.

30) Weigle, Palmy. Ancient Dyes For Modern Weavers. New York: Watson Guptill, 1974. Print.

Appendix 1: Dye Samples I Have Done:

Annatto (alum + iron) = tan Birch bark (alum + soda ash + iron) = pinky

tan Blackberry leaf (alum) = sage green Black Walnut (alum + soda ash) = brown Brazilwood (alum) = pink Brazilwood (alum + copper) = rose pink Brazilwood (alum + cream of tartar + chalk)

= merlot Brazilwood (alum + soda ash) = lavender

purple Brazilwood (alum + soda ash + iron) = light

grey purple Cochineal (alum) = orchid purple Cutch (alum) = light brown Cutch (alum + copper) = grey brown Eucalyptus (alum + iron) = sage green Elderberry fruits (alum) = tan Instant Indigo (alum, quick dip) = medium

blue Instant Indigo (alum, hour dip) = dark blue

Instant Indigo (alum, overnight multiple dips) = dark blue

Letharia (alum) = neon yellow Logwood (alum) = lavender Logwood (alum + soda ash after)=grey-blue

violet Logwood (alum + iron + extra dye + let to

boil) = black Madder (alum + iron) = reddish-pink Marigold, whole heads (alum) = light tan

yellow Osage Orange (alum) = yellow Osage Orange (alum + copper) = chartreuse Phaeolus (alum) = yellow Phaeolus (copper) = caramel brown Phaeolus (iron) = olive green Rose Hips, dried (alum) = tan Saffron (alum) = goldenrod Turmeric (alum) = pumpkin orange Weld (alum + iron) = sage green Yarrow (alum) = sage green

Appendix 2: Some Dyes, Their Colors and Amount to Use:

Dye Name Plant Scientific First UsedColors Given

Amount by weight

Alkanet Alkanna tinctoria Greeks (300 BCE) purple 100%Annatto Bixia orellana late Middle Ages orange 50%Black walnut Juglan sp. Romans brown 50-100%Brazilwood Caesalpia sp. late Middle Ages Orange to red 100%

Cochineal* Dactylopius sp. 15th centurypink, red, purple

a little goes a long ways

Cutch Acacia catechu  Ancient India orange/brown 50%Fustic Chlorophora tinctoria 16th cent. yellow to green 50% or moreIndigo Indigofera sp. 16th cent. blues it's complicated!Lac Kerria sp. (mainly K. lacca)  Romans (250 CE) red 15-20%Logwood Haematoxylon campechianum late Middle Ages purple to black 50%

Madder Rubia tinctoria Egyptian, Greek, RomanRed, pink, purple 100-150%

Saffron Crocus sativus Assyrians saffron 2%

TurmericCurcuma longa

Egyptian (1500 BCE), known in general but little used

yellow, orange, brown 50%

Weld Reseda luteola Roman yellow to brown 100%Woad Isatis tinctoria Roman Celts blues 100%

*replaced kermes, another insect used as far back as ancient Rome, that was becoming hard to find.

Appendix 3: Terminology You May Encounter

Absorbency The ability of a fiber or fabric to absorb moisture.

Acid Dye A dye which is applied to protein fabric or fiber from an acid dye solutions. It can be used on nylon, wool and other animal protein fibers, silk, acrylic, polypropylene and blends. It is fairly colorfast to light and laundering.

Acrylic A manufactured fiber made from long-chain synthetic polymers. Characteristics: wrinkle resistance; low moisture absorbency and quick-drying; provides warmth yet lightweight, soft and resilient.

Adjective Dye A dye which requires the use of mordents. See natural dyes.

Alum Hydrated double-sulfate of alumina potassium. A commonly used mordant.

Ammonia An alkaline liquid used in natural dyeing.

Ammonium Sulfate A mild acid-forming salt used with acid dyes. Used to insure levelness for light to medium shades.

Animal Fibers Protein-based hair, fur, and cocoon materials taken from animals. Typical animal fibers include, wool, mohair, llama, alpaca, cashmere, camel and vicuna and cocoon material (silk).

Basic Dyes A class of dyes, usually synthetic, that act as bases, and which are actually aniline dyes. Their color base is not water soluble but can be made so by converting the base into a salt. The basic dyes, while possessing great tinctorial strength and brightness, are not generally light-fast.

Bast Fibers Fiber obtained from the stems of certain types of plants. These include flax, hemp, jute, ramie, milkweed, and nettles.

Batik A traditional dyeing process in which portions of cloth are coated with wax and resist the dye.

Bleaching The procedure, other than by only scouring, of improving the whiteness of textile materials. Sometimes accomplished with and sometimes without the removal of natural coloring or other extraneous substances.

Bleeding A term applied to yarn from which the color runs, usually staining the white or lighter colored-items nearby.

Cellulose Fiber Or cellulosic fiber. Fibers produced form the cell walls of plants, i.e., cotton, hemp, ramie.

Citric Acid Crystals Substitute for Acetic Acid 56%. Use 1 teaspoon to replace 1 teaspoon Acetic Acid 56%.

Color Fastness That property of a dye, to retain its original hue, when handled under normal conditions when exposed to light, heat, or other conditions.

Complements These are colors that are opposite one another on the hue circle.

Crocking The name given to when excess dye rubs off from fibers.

Crocking The transfer of dye stuff from one fabric to another item by friction. This usually happens when a fabric or yarn has been overdyed.

Direct Dyes A class of aniline dyes, so called because they have such great affinity for cellulose fibers, i.e., cotton and linen. While both these and acid dyes are sodium salts of dye acids, direct dyes do not require the use of a mordant. Their shades are duller than those of either acid or basic dyes and they tend to have less tinctorial value than the basic dyes; however, they have the very important advantages of being much more lightfast than the basic dyes and possibly more so than acid dyes.

Dye There are many application classes of dyes, including acid dyes, disperse dyes, reactive dyes, and natural dyes. Dyes may be generally divided into natural and synthetic types. Natural, or vegetative, dyes are obtained from berries, flowers, roots, bark and more. Synthetic dyes are chemical compounds.

Dyeability The capacity of fibers to accept dyes.

Dye bath The solution (usually water) containing the dyes, dyeing assistants and any other ingredients necessary for dyeing.

Dyed in the Wool Fabrics or yarns where the fibers were dyed prior to processing.

Dyeing The process of applying a comparatively permanent color to fiber, yarn or fabric by immersing in a bath of dye.

Exhaustion The amount of dye taken from the dye bath by the fiber, yarn or fabric being dyed. Also, the condition of the dyer at the end of the day.

Fast Color A dye which is stable to color destroying agents, such as sunlight, perspiration, washing, abrasion, and pressing.

Fiber The fundamental component used in making textile yarns and fabrics. Fibers are fine substances with a high ratio of length to thickness. They can be either natural or synthetic (man-made). Natural fibers are of animal origin (wool, mohair, etc.) or vegetable origin (cotton, linen, etc.) or mineral origin (asbestos). Synthetic fibers are produced from naturally occurring material, mainly wood pulp or cotton lint, and the most commonly used example of this form of fiber is rayon. Manmade fibers are produced directly by the polymerization of synthetic chemicals at present obtained as by-products of the petro-chemical industry: typical examples are nylon and polyester.

Fugitive Colors Dyes that fade, especially those that lose color relatively quickly when exposed to natural light.

Glauber's Salt Sodium sulfate. An acid used in dyeing to help the protein fibers to take colors evenly (leveling). Used in acid dyeing.

Hue The pure spectrum colors commonly referred to by the "color names" - red, orange, yellow, blue, green violet.

Indigo A blue dye from a variety of plants in the Indigofera family. Commonly used as a vat dye on both cellulose and protein fibers.

Level A dye term referring to even color.

Lye Sodium hydroxide. Strong alkali used with vat dyes such as Indigo. Always add Lye to cold water!

Madder The roots of Rubia tinctorum used in vegetative (natural) dyeing to get a red. Kind of a reddish brown.

Man-Made Fiber A man-made fiber, e.g., viscose, rayon. Also known as "manufactured fiber".

Mordant A material used to fix a dye in or on a substance, by combining with a dye to form an insoluble compound. Commonly used mordants are chrome, iron, aluminum, and tin.

Natural Dye Dye obtained from substances such as roots, bark, wood, berries, lichens, insects, shellfish and flowers.

Natural Fiber Fiber obtained from animal, vegetable or mineral sources, as opposed to those regenerated or synthesized from chemicals. Please see Synthetic Fiber and Regenerated Fiber.

Package DyeingPackage dyeing occurs after the wool has been spun into yarn.

Piece DyeingPiece dyeing occurs after the cloth has been woven or knit, but only solid colors are possible

Plant Fiber  A fiber generated from a plant, e.g., cotton, flax.

Pot Ash Potassium Carbonate. A replacement for dye activator or soda ash.

Primaries The three basic "hues". Ah, but which primary. The Painters Primaries include red, blue, and yellow. This is the palette we learned in school. The Printers Primaries include magenta, cyan, and yellow. This is the palette used for color printing. The Light Primaries include red, blue, and green. This is the palette used on your computer screen.

Protein Fiber  A fiber composed of protein, including such naturally occurring animal fibers as wool, silk, alpaca, llama and other hair and fur fibers.

Regenerated fibers  Also known as man‐made fibers. These are fibers that have been created artificially by using the building blocks provided by nature (e.g. proteins or cellulose) as opposed to fibers made entirely by nature

Retayne A cationic dye fixing agent. Used on cotton fabrics to improve wet fastness of direct dyes and to color paper pulp. Is helpful as an after treatment for reactive dyes where washing facilities are not adequate for complete

washout, though tends to lower light fastness qualities.

Roving The soft strand of carded fiber that has been twisted, attenuated, and freed of foreign matter preparatory to spinning.

Scouring The process of washing or cleansing wool of grease, soil, and other debris in a water/soap/alkali solution. When scouring is done commercially, a normal fleece goes through at least three washings. During the scouring process, a fleece may lose up to 50% of its original weight.

Soda Ash Sodium Carbonate. Use as an alkali fixative for reactive dyes.

Sodium Acetate or Sodium Acetate Crystals An acid-forming salt that acts as a leveling agent for Sabraset/Lanaset dyes.

Sodium Bicarbonate Bicarbonate of soda or baking soda. A weak alkali used to set reactive dyes by steaming or ironing.

Sodium Bisulfate Sodium acid sulfate. Colorless to white crystals that form a very strong acid when dissolved in water. Use with the Kiton acid dyes or to burn out cellulose from cotton and cotton blend fabrics. It is corrosive to skin and eyes in solution.

Space-Dyed A yarn or fiber that has been dyed at irregular intervals.

Stock Dyeing "Dyed-in-the-wool" is another term for stock dyeing because the fiber is still in the form of loose fleece. Most stock-dyed wool is made into woolen yarns. Worsted wool is never dyed until after it is combed and dyeing at this stage is called top dyeing. Both methods produce the highest penetration of dye and the highest quality of colored yarns. Wool dyed this way is also used to make speckled yarns of mixed colors and subtle heathers.

Synthetic Dye  A complex colorant derived from coal tar.

Synthetic Fiber  Synthetic fibers are organic compounds of high molecular weight and are formed by polymerization. In her book "The Textile Arts" Birrell suggests classifying them by how they are formed. Synthetic fibers formed by condensation reactions include polyamides (nylon) and polyesters (dacron). Synthetic fibers formed by addition reactions include vinyls, acrylic-vinyl, acrylic-nitril, and urethane.

Synthrapol A concentrated liquid wetting agent and surfactant compatible with all dye classifications.

Thiox Thiourea Dioxide. A safe replacement for sodium hydrosulfite in vat dyeing, discharge printing, and general color stripping on cellulose and protein fibers. Good shelf life if stored in a dry location. Five times stronger than sodium hydrosulfite.

Urea A synthetic nitrogen compound used with all classes of dyes. It also increases the solubility of the dyes.

Value The relative lightness or darkness of a color.

Wickability The ability to draw moisture through the fiber.

Woad A blue dye produced from Isatis tinctoria. Not as strong as Indigo.

Wool-Dyed A term applied to yarns where the fibers were dyed prior to spinning; either in the loose fibers or as top or roving. See also "Yarn-Dyed".

Yarn A continuous strand of textile fibers that may be composed of endless filaments or shorter fibers twisted or otherwise held together. It may be made up oof vegetable (linen, hemp, jute, sisal, ramie, cotton), animal (wool, mohair, silk), or artificial fibers (gold, silver and other metals rayons, nylon, Orlon). Yarns are utilized in making fabric. Yarn is characterized by its composition, its thickness (or grist or count), number of strands (or plies), direction and degree of twist, and the color.

Yarn-Dyed A term applied to yarns dyed after spinning. See also "Wool-Dyed".