Early Use of Natural Dyes in Textiles

Color has been part of human culture for as long as people have made cloth. The need to transform plain fiber into something vivid and meaningful drove thousands of years of experimentation, trade, and discovery. The earliest written record of the use of natural dyes was found in China dated 2600BC. Chemical tests of red fabrics found in the tomb of King Tutankhamen in Egypt show the presence of alizarin, a pigment extracted from madder. In more modern times, Alexander the Great mentions having found purple robes dating to 541BC in the royal treasury when he conquered Susa, the Persian capital. Kermes (from the kermes insect) is mentioned 25 times in the Bible, usually with blue and purple, for Tabernacle textiles and priestly garments. By the 4th century AD, dyes such as woad, madder, weld, Brazilwood, and indigo and a dark reddish-purple were known. Brazil, in fact, was named for the red Brazilwood found there, the dye having been known in Europe long before the continent was mapped.

The Earliest Evidence

The earliest surviving evidence of textile dyeing was found at the large Neolithic settlement at Catalhoyuk in southern Anatolia, where traces of red dyes, possibly from ochre (iron oxide pigments from clay), were found. Archaeological findings also show that the cultures of the Indus Valley used indigo and madder, derived from indigenous plants, to create colorful textiles and ceremonial clothing.

The Royal Color – Purple

When Alexander the Great conquered Susa, the Persian capital, around 330 BC, he reportedly found purple robes in the royal treasury that dated back to 541 BC — already centuries old and still vibrant. By the 4th century AD, dyers across Europe and Asia were working with woad, madder, weld, Brazilwood, and indigo, among others.

Purple was made from a mollusk and clothing made from it was so expensive only the royal family could afford it. It was extracted from a small gastropod mollusk found in all seas or from a crustacean called a Trumpet Shell or Purple Fish, found near Tyre on the Mediterranean coast. Their body secreted a deep purple fluid which was harvested by cracking the shell and digging out a vein located near the shellfish head with a small pointed utensil. The mucus-like contents of the veins were then mixed together and spread on silk or linen. Estimates are that it took 8,500 shellfish to produce one gram of the dye, hence the fact this dye was worth more than its weight in gold. This expensive dye was mentioned in the bible, in Acts 16:14, where Lydia is a seller of purple. Lydia was likely a wealthy businesswoman.

Red and Blue

By the 15th century, insect-based dyes such as cochineal and kermes, were becoming more common. Cochineal was a discovery of pre-Columbian peoples in the Americas. The dried bodies of female cochineal insects, ground to powder and mixed with water, produced a deep, vibrant red. Spanish explorers brought cochineal back to Europe, where it quickly became one of the most valuable trade commodities in the world.

By the 17th century, dyeing cloth “in the wood” (meaning at the fiber stage, before spinning or weaving) was introduced in England: logwood, fustic, etc. In the 18th century a method of bleaching linen with kelp was introduced in Scotland, a Swedish chemist discovered chlorine destroys vegetable colors and the French began to recommend chlorine water for commercial bleaching. Indigo began to be grown in England, and Cudbear, a natural dye prepared from a variety of lichens, is patented. Another natural dye, Quercitron, from the inner bark of the North American oak, is patented in 1775. See The Red Dyes : Cochineal, Madder, and Murex Purple : A World Tour of Textile Techniques

By the 1800’s, Prussian Blue and Sulphuric acid are available commercially. Prussian blue was formed from prussite of potash and iron salt, making it one of the earliest known chemical dyes. In 1856, William Henry Perkin, while experimenting with coal tar in hopes of finding an artificial quinine as a cure for malaria, discovered the first synthetic dye stuff which he called “Mauve”. The color quickly became a favorite of the royal family, and a new industry was begun. See Mauve: How One Man Invented a Color That Changed the World

In 1869, the red dye found in madder was the first natural pigment to be synthetically duplicated, which began the steady decline of dyes produced from natural sources. In 1905, the Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Adolf von Baeyer for discovering the molecular structure of indigo and developing a process to produce it synthetically. The manufactured version quickly replaced natural indigo, ending what had been one of the oldest agricultural industries in the world.

Types of Natural Dyes

Natural dyes can be sorted into three broad categories: natural dyes obtained from minerals such as ocher, those obtained from animals such as cochineal, and those obtained from plants such as indigo.

Natural dyes obtained from minerals

Mineral-based dyes include ocher, which comes from iron-rich clay. It is a dye obtained from an impure earthy ore of iron or ferruginous clay, usually red (hematite) or yellow (limonite). Hematite produces red; limonite produces yellow. In addition to being the principal ore of iron, hematite is a constituent of a number of abrasives and pigments.Because these dyes are inorganic, they do not break down the way plant and animal dyes do, which is why traces survive in ancient archaeological sites.

Natural dyes obtained from plants

Plant-based dyes were the most commonly used throughout history, simply because plant material was the most available. Madder, from the roots of the madder plant, produced the famous “Turkey red” that was so popular in the 19th century — brilliant, rich, and considered exotic. The plants are dug up, the roots washed and dried and ground into powder. During the 19th century, the most widely available fabrics were those which had been dyed with madder. Weld produced yellow; logwood and fustic came into use in the 17th century for darker tones.

Woad, a shrub that grew abundantly in Europe, was the primary source of blue dye until indigo took over. Until the Middle Ages, Europeans used woad to create a blue fabric dye. The woad was a shrub that grew abundantly in parts of Europe. The coloring was in the leaves, which were dried and ground, mixed with water and made into a paste. This dye was supplanted by indigo, an ancient shrub well known to the Egyptians and Indians. Like woad, its color lay in its leaflets and branches. The leaves were fermented, the sediment purified, and the remaining substance was pressed into cakes.

Natural dyes obtained from animals

Animal-based dyes include cochineal and kermes from insects and a Tyrian purple from sea snails. Cochineal is still harvested and used today, including as a food coloring. Cochineal produces a brilliant red dye produced from insects living on cactus plants. The properties of the cochineal bug was discovered by pre-Columbian Indians who would dry the females in the sun, and then ground the dried bodies to produce a rich, rich red powder. When mixed with water, the powder produced a deep, vibrant red coloring. Cochineal is still harvested today on the Canary Islands. In fact, most cherries today are given their bright red appearance through the artificial color “carmine”, which comes from the cochineal insect.

Mordants

A mordant is an element which aids the chemical reaction that takes place between the dye and the fiber so that the dye is absorbed. Containers used for dying must be non-reactive (enamel, stainless steel.) Brass, copper or iron pots will do their own mordanting. Not all dyes need mordants to help them adhere to fabric. If they need no mordants, such as lichens and walnut hulls, they are called substantive dyes. Indigo is a substantive dye. If they do need a mordant, they are called adjective dyes. Silk and wool can often be dyed with little or no mordanting, while cotton and linen require more preparation because plant fibers hold dye less readily than protein fibers.

Common mordants are: ALUM (potassium aluminum sulfate), usually used with cream of tartar, which helps evenness and brightens slightly; IRON or COPPERAS (ferrous sulfate) which saddens or darken colors, bringing out green shades; TIN, usually used with cream of tartar, which blooms or brightens colors, especially reds, oranges and yellows; BLUE VITRIOL (copper sulfate) which saddens colors and brings out greens and TANNIC ACID used for tans and browns. An important and often overlooked feature of mordants is that they can change the final color, not just fix it. The same dye bath can yield quite different shades depending on which mordant is used.

Synthetic Dyes

Synthetic dyes were introduced in the 19th century, which reduced the use of natural dyes because they were harder to produce on a large scale, more expensive, and less consistent in color. Today, however, interest in natural dyes is growing again. Quilters, fiber artists, and textile designers are returning to plant and insect dyes for their subtlety, their connection to history, and their gentler environmental impact. For anyone working with fabric, understanding natural dyes means understanding the roots of the craft itself.

Bibliography

• The Red Dyes : Cochineal, Madder, and Murex Purple : A World Tour of Textile Techniques
• Purple : A World Tour of Textile Techniques
• Mauve: How One Man Invented a Color That Changed the World
• Natural Dyes & Home Dyeing (by Rita J. Adrosko, paperback, Dover) Classic recipe book. Good general information, accessible to beginners. Some historical background, recipes arranged by color, especially good for cotton-dyeing. 154 pages
• Art & Craft Of Natural Dyeing (by J. N. Liles, paperback, UTN) Traditional recipes for modern use—most complete book available. Brief history, procedures & precautions, mordanting & dyeing—for cotton, linen, wool & silk. 223 pages
• The Craft of Natural Dyeing (by Jenny Dean, paperback, SRC) An elegant introductory-level book. Vivid photos of dye plants, processes, and resulting colors. Text covers all the main topics,and gives step-by-step method for dyeing a skein of yarn. 64 pages.
• The Dye Pot (by Mary Frances Davidson paperback MFD) Straight-ahead instructions and recipes. Preparation of wool, mordanting and dyeing with various materials. Useful notes and suggestions. 53 pages.
• Natural Dyes and Home Dyeing.
• Lichens for Vegetable Dyeing (by Eileen M. Bolton paperback R&R) Concise and accurate book, the classic source of information on the subject. By a self-educated English naturalist; with the author’s charming botanical paintings. 43 pages
• Craft of the dyer; color from plants and lichens
• Balfour-Paul, Jenny. Indigo: Egyptian Mummies to Blue Jeans. London: British Museum Press, 1998.
• Cannon, John and Margaret. Dye Plants and Dyeing. Portland: Timber Press, 1994.
• Cardon, Dominique. Natural Dyes: Sources, Tradition, Technology and Science. London: Archetype Publications, 2007. (The definitive modern reference.)
• Goodwin, Jill. A Dyer’s Manual. London: Pelham Books, 1982.
• National Center for Biotechnology Information (NIH/PMC). “Natural Colorants: Historical, Processing and Sustainable Prospects.” https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5315675/
• Faribault Mill. “The History of Textile Dyes.” https://www.faribaultmill.com/blogs/the-thread/the-history-of-textile-dyes