Why Natural Dyeing?

Dyeing

Dyeing is a process used to permanently color fabrics. It is done by immersing the fabric in a dye bath containing a solution of a specific dye. The dye particles are then absorbed by the fabric fibers and the dye is fixed by a mordant or a fixing agent. The process of dyeing is used to create a wide range of colors and patterns on fabrics for clothing, furnishings, and decorating.

During the summer months of 2014, I investigated the craft of natural dyeing for the first time. It had always been something that appealed to me as a textile artist/designer and I finally decided to give it a go. I explored a few different dye ingredients such as onion skin, hibiscus flowers, chamomile, beetroot and turmeric. At the time, the one that I was most disappointed with were the results from the turmeric. I was overwhelmed by the pigment that came from a natural source. It was so yellow that to me it almost looked artificial!?

For the past few weeks I have been working on a self-directed project in university. I am currently in weave, which involves the use of yarns, color selection and pattern selection so I decided to set myself the challenge of naturally dyeing all of my yarns, for both the warp and the weft. Throughout this project I have been doing a lot of research into the lost craft of natural dyeing, as well as why it is important within todays’ textile society to keep this tradition alive. I have become almost obsessed with spending my days in the dye lab and experimenting with different yarns, fabrics and natural ingredients. Personally I do not see the fun in following dye recipes. It is much more enjoyable to ignore structured routines that have been used before and experiment with the endless possibilities that natural dyes can achieve. Experimentation is the best way to learn! And after all… the beauty of natural dyeing is the excitement that comes from unexpected results.

There is something about being able to go into the kitchen to get creative, particularly when it comes to textile art/design – because it is unexpected. Creating colors for fabrics with the same ingredients used to make my dinner sounds so strange that I am becoming more and more fascinated by it every day. The shades and hues that can be created from just one source are almost enchanting and seem to have a particular appeal to them, more than any synthetic dye ever will. The fabric almost becomes alive… it has its’ own story, if the sources were grown on the also living earth.

In 1930, author of “The Use of Vegetable Dyes”- Violetta Thurston, perfectly put into words the aesthetic advantages of natural dyes…

…”No synthetic dye has the lustre, that under glow of rich color, that delicious aromatic smell, that soft light and shadow that gives so much pleasure to the eye. THESE COLOURS ARE ALIVE.”

I could not agree with this quote more, however there is much more reasoning to the use of natural dyes that has to be considered. During this century our society has changed drastically; we have become unaware, and if not, comfortable with the amount of hazardous, health harming and even carcinogenic chemicals used within, in particularly, the food industry and the fashion and textile manufacturing industries. One of the biggest links between these two factors is believe it or not, our biggest organ… our skin! Our skin is very sensitive to fabrics that contain harsh chemicals; which then enter directly into our blood system. Therefore the hazardous pigments within synthetic dyes are harming our health! Likewise, the effects of chemically adorned/processed food that we may eat will be shown through our skin… after all it is also our largest detoxifying organ!

Textile manufacturing involves many different processes, therefore also many different chemicals. “The most chemically intensive part of textile manufacturing is ‘wet processing’, such as dyeing, washing, printing and fabric finishing”, according to the Textiles: Stop the chemical overdose report by WECF (October 2013). This is because these are some of the finishing processes that are therefore more likely to remain in a final product/garment. If synthetic dyeing is the most hazardous process, yet there is a clear alternative, then why are more companies/artists/designers not using natural dyes to avoid pollution, damage to health on workers and consumers, water toxicity and damage to our food chain? These are all questions that I will continue to ask, research and explore throughout this project and there after.

Back to my experiment.. the images within this post are some of my first yarn, fabric and paper samples that I achieved whilst dying with turmeric and tea. I have considered achieving different shades and pigments by altering the amounts of each of these ingredients used. As I mentioned at the very beginning, the very first time I dyed with turmeric I was disappointed with the bright, harsh and almost fake appearance of what I was hoping would be apparent as ‘natural’. In my opinion I was successful in the summer with creating a good range of tones and shades from the other natural sources (although there is always room for more experimentation) . Therefore I wanted to go back to the turmeric and see if I could get more successful results by changing factors such as, the temperature of the water, the materials used, the mordant-if any, mixing it with other dyes and the length of time the yarns and fabrics were left in the dye bath. After lots of research , analysis and recording… these are my results.