First and foremost, let us discuss the concepts of natural dyeing.
What exactly is Natural Dyeing?
Natural dyeing is the process of extracting dyes from natural or organic sources such as plants, minerals, and insects.
Why use natural dyes?
The most essential and apparent reasons are that natural dyes, unlike synthetic dyes, are non-toxic, do not harm the environment, and are sustainable, biodegradable, and eco-friendly.
A few essential facts regarding natural dyeing:
-Natural dyeing can only be done on natural fibres such as cotton, jute, silk, wool, linen, and so on.
-Before dyeing, fabrics should be soaked in mordants to ensure that the dyes are well bound with the cloth.
What is Mordant and why is it used?
Mordants play an important role in the natural dyeing process. Simply defined, they operate as a binding agent to help natural dyes in bonding to fibres, and they can also enhance brightness and colour fastness.
Mordant possibilities include Alum, Myrobalan, Vinegar, Tannin, Calcium Carbonate, and others. The same natural dye will produce a unique colour with each mordant.
Although natural dyes offer many advantages, they also have significant drawbacks in terms of cost and colour durability. Because natural dyes are expensive and tend to fade after a few washes they are not purchased or favoured by many.
So, let’s get started on making our naturally dyed garments!
I'm going to use the crumble tie-dye technique and dye the material in Sappanwood dye extract with Alum as the mordant.
Material required:
Any Natural fabric of choice - 1 to 2 Meters
• Sappanwood chips
• Mordant - Alum
• Natural soap - Reetha nut powder
• Squirt bottle
• Rubber band
• Water
Procedure:
For Fabric Scouring process:
• Take a container and fill water till the fabric will be completely immersed.
• Add 7 to 8 spoons of Reetha nut powder and let it boil for about 30 to 60 minutes.
• Then rinse the fabric in room temperature water and let it dry.
• This process with removing the starch and dirt from the fabric and improve the absorbency of the fabric better
For Mordanting process:
• Take a container (for 500 ml of water add 1-3 spoons of mordant) fill the water till the point that when the fabric is dipped in the water it should be completely immersed then add the mordant proportionate to the water quantity and let it come to boiling state.
• Once the mordant solution is boiling add the fabric to let and let it boil for 30 mins
• After 30 mins set the fabric aside
For the Dye Extraction process:
• Take a container (for 1 litre of water add about 2 to 5 spoons of the dye component) and add water and Sappanwood chips or any natural dye component.
• Let it boil for 30 minutes.
• After boiling for 30 minutes set it aside and let it cool down to room temperature.
• Then strain the solution using a sieve or strainer and filter it into a different container.
For the Crumble dye process:
• Take the fabric out of the mordant solution and squeeze it well to get rid of the excess solution
• Place the fabric on a flat surface and start crumbling it together.
• Now take Rubber bands and put them tightly around the crumbling fabric. Repeat the same process until the fabric is tied tightly into a ball-like structure.
For the Dyeing process:
• Since it is a crumble dye process transfer the dye solution into a squirt bottle.
• Place the crumbled fabric on a flat surface.
• Pour the dye onto the fabric surface until the outer part looks completely covered in the dye.
• Flip the fabric and do the same, make sure the outer part of the fabric is completely covered on the sides and set the dyed fabric aside for 15 - 20 minutes.
• After 15 - 20 minutes cut the rubber bands off and spread them out to dry the fabric under shade.
• Once the fabric is completely dry, run it under room temperature water until the excess dye particles are completely washed off.
• To finish the process, rinse the fabric once in soap water and then rinse it in room temperature water.
• Dry the fabric in shade, Iron it.
There is your naturally dyed fabric!!!!
Following the same steps, I have dyed newborn apparel set to gift to my sister who is an expecting mother. As Natural dye is soft and gentle for the skin it could be a great gift for a newborn as they have delicate skin. So go ahead and make something good for your loved ones!