An overview of period dyes
in progress 8/23/2005

Above: Naturally dyed silks by Kateryn Rous

Intro | Basic Color Overview | Process Overview | Bibliography | Links

Natural dyes produce more muted colors than modern chemical dyes, but they can still be bright! Some are very fast to light and washing. Most must be used in conjunction with mordants, which act to bind the dye to the fiber. Modifying agents were also used to improve results. The most commonly used mordants (pre-1600) included alum, copper, iron, & tannin. Additionally, fermented urine was key to using certain dyes, particularly woad and indigo. By the Renaissance additional modifying agents were used as well, including fermented & unfermented bran, lye, & lime. Woad, indigo, & murex do not require the use of a mordant, no matter the fiber being colored. The same dyestuff also can produce different shades depending on the type fabric being dyed.

Many mordants & assists REQUIRE safe handling-gloves, facemask, careful storage & disposal, etc.

Wool and silk take dyes very well, especially with alum as the mordant. Wool comes naturally in white, gray, browns and black, and all colors of wool can be used in dyeing. Domesticated silk is white, and wild silks are varied, usually yellowish or tan--a 16th C recipe book includes instructions for whitening silk using sulfur. Wool is the 'default' fabric in Western Europe (i.e., if a period recipe says 'take your fabric…' it means 'take your WOOL fabric' -- unless otherwise specified).

Linen and cotton generally cannot be dyed without premordanting with tannin, followed by at least one treatment with alum. Renaissance dye manuals contain detailed instructions on the extra treatments needed to prepare linen for dyeing. Linen could be whitened through the use of sulfur. A very few dyestuffs (woad/indigo chief among them) require no mordant no matter the fiber being dyed.

Items were dyed in a variety of forms. Wool could be dyed before or after spinning, or after weaving. Linen also was dyed in yarn and fabric. Silk was mostly dyed before weaving, but there were at least 2 types of silk that were piece dyed (sarcenet & satin). The earlier dyeing was done in the production process, the better the color result in the finished fabric. However, the earlier it was done, the more expensive the fabric.

I work primarily in silk, and also prefer to dye fabric rather than floss. Period illustrations show a sort of winch system in use to lift the wet fabric out of the dyebath--so far, the largest fabric pieces I've dyed were about 3 meters long, so I haven't had to construct a similar system yet.

 

BASIC COLOR OVERVIEW

RED

ABOVE: A display of naturally dyed silks and wools, including from left: Crimson silk shawl (cochineal); red and orange wool (madder), and on far right red and mauve wool (cochineal with and without mordant). The yellow wool was done with weld, and the blue is from indigo.

• Madder roots, used throughout Europe for around 3,000 years. Produces strong, lightfast, wash fast reds. Highly sensitive to mineral content of water, pH, and temperature. It takes patience to produce red, instead of orange or coral. Bedstraw is actually a variety of madder.

ABOVE: close up of madder roots after soaking, sliced lengthwise	ABOVE: close up of wool being dyed in madder over an open fire at a demo. Because the dye takes so much time to transfer from the root to the water (and onto the fiber), madder is often left in the pot while dyeing.

• Kermes/lac/grain/vermilion/polish cochineal/American cochineal. Insect dyes, all containing different amounts of the same dyestuff (possible chemical difference in kermes?). Byzantine, Anglo-Norman, and Renaissance (except American cochineal not used in Europe before 16th C). Excellent reds, but very costly. It takes 60,000-70,000 female cochineal insects to make 1 LB of dye, and modern price for 1 LB ranges from $50-$75 and more.
  

ABOVE: unground cochineal bugs...	ABOVE: ground bugs...	ABOVE: cochineal dye

 

• Brazilwood, hardwood chips or sawdust imported from India. Brilliant color, but not terribly wash or light fast (eventually fades to reddish brown hues). Best when used in combination with madder or kermes, but also used specifically because it would fade out to red-brown (example, to obtain russet color on linen). I have primary source documentation of 16th Century russet color linen kirtles in England. Brazil yields different shades based on pH content.
  

 

• Archil, a lichen used in ancient Greece & Rome. Reintroduced to northern Europe in 14th Century via Spain Lichens are not available commercially and should only be gathered if you know for sure that you are not damaging the environment!

  
  BLUE

• Woad and indigo plants contain the same blue coloring agent (indigontin), but in differing concentrations. Indigo has a higher concentration, so you need fewer plants to make up a dyebath than when using woad. The dyebath preparation traditionally involved using fermented human urine; modern fermentation can be achieved without the smell, especially if you use freeze-dried indigo crystals.
  
  
• Overall the way you handle the dyebath is very different from the way other dyes are used. With both dyestuffs you have to be careful not to introduce too much oxygen when stirring or adding fibers for dyeing, or you'll exhaust the vat and get stained fabrics rather than dyed fabrics. Also, to get a nice dark color really requires multiple dips into the vat, with time in between for the fiber to rest, rather than just leaving the fiber in the vat for a long time to build up color. If you do the second, you'll experience a lot of 'crocking' (every time the fiber/fabric gets wet it will bleed lots and lots of dye). With the multiple dip build-up, however, you'll be able to rinse the item clean and not worry about future bleeding.

ABOVE, Left: Silk after 3 dips , and (right) after 1 dip. The vat had a higher concentration of indigo than I typically use now.	ABOVE: Indigo dyed silk scarves dry in the trees in my backyard.

• You may see some period recipe translations telling you to use 'pastel' to achieve blue. 'Pastel' is simply another word for indigo.
  
  
• .Avoid synthetic indigo, which is a petroleum product. Woad is considered an invasive plant in many states, and should not be grown in a garden unless you check first to see if it's legal.

YELLOW

• Weld produces clear, fast yellows & was the yellow dyestuff of choice. It is now very hard to find commercially, but seeds are available for growing. Several other dye plants (such as Dyers Broom) contain the same dye chemical, but in lower concentrations.
• Fustic "Old Fustic" is a New World plant that came to supplant weld, although it yields inferior results. It is now even harder to come by than weld, and I haven't tried it yet.
• Saffron was used to produce a pretty, expensive, but very fugitive yellow. There's some controversy about whether the Irish 'saffron' shirt was really dyed with saffron or with safflower. A great deal of saffron was grown in England beginning in the later middle ages, giving name to the East Anglian town of Saffron Walden.
• A large number of other plants will produce yellow dyes, but the quality and fastness of the color varies greatly. Dyer's Chamomile, Peppergrass, Queen Anne's lace (wild carrot), and hops are only 4 examples. Using a copper mordant helps fix yellow dyes, but can introduce a greenish tinge.

ABOVE: examples of weld on silk	ABOVE: a yellow dyepot, in the midst of straining out the bits and pieces of plant	ABOVE: more yellows on silk (l-r) safflower, weld, Queen Anne's Lace, QALace treated with copper.

 

ORANGE

-Red Sandalwood, in period known as saunders, can produce deep orange shades. Like brazilwood, sandalwood needs to be properly oxidized for best color extraction. This is not the same sandalwood as what is used for perfumes (etc), which is white sandalwood.
-Safflower can produce a pretty orange shade as well as a more yellow color.
-Madder, if not properly handled, can produce orange rather than the truly desirable red. This is because the plant root contains several different color producing chemicals.

 

PURPLE

• Murex, the famous ancient purple dye that eventually became restricted for the use of the Byzantine imperial family only. Made from a mollusk shell. The mollusk used 1,500 years ago is now extinct, but other shells producing the same dyestuff are available at a very high price.
• Commonly found mixtures to produce various purples include: Archil & potash (blue-violet); woad & madder; brazilwood in an alkaline bath, or overdyed with indigo.

 

Brazil purples	miscellaneous	In center, brazil scarf overdyed with indigo

GREEN

• True greens are made by overdyeing-green leaves (for example) typically produce yellow, not green. Most famous pairing is Weld & Woad. Any good yellow can be used, however.

	ABOVE, center: a light yellow scarf (weld) was dipped once in indigo to make pale green.

 

• Applying a copper mordant to white wool will result in a sea green color without any further processing necessary. An iron after-mordant can also produce olive greens with some dyes.
• Some other yellows (such as Weld and Queen Anne's lace) have a greenish tinge to them, which can be emphasized by using a copper mordant afterbath.
• Overall problem with green dyes-all yellows fade over time, creating a bluer color than was originally intended

  
  BROWN & BLACK

• One of the natural colors of wool is brown, of course. Brown dyes can be obtained from walnut hulls, some barks, and other items. If madder is overheated, the result will be a reddish brown. I have no working experience with brown dyes.

 

• There isn't a single plant or bug that will create a black dye. The challenge for period dyers was to combine ingredients to produce a color as close to black as possible. Indigo/woad was often used as the base color. Iron applied during the dye process is corrosive and will eventually destroy the dyed fibers. Fugitive dyestuff used as a base (such as logwood) will quickly fade out, leaving you with some color other than black. I have not yet attempted black, but I do have numerous recipes & all the needed supplies.
  

PROCESS OVERVIEW

What follows is a general overview, rather than actual instructions for using a particular dyestuff.

Step 1: Prepare fabric for dyeing:

• Weigh dry fabric to determine amount of mordant needed (note: 1:4 is a typical ratio of alum:fiber; i.e. 1 ounce of alum to mordant 4 ounces of dry wool or silk)
• Wash, rinse & leave to soak at least 1 hour in clean water to relax fibers

Step 2: Prepare mordant & apply to fabric:

• Dissolve alum equal to ¼ the weight of the fabric when dry, and dissolve in hot water
• Pour into large pot of clean water (+/- 3 gallons) and stir
• Transfer wet fabric to mordant solution, and stir well
• Leave fabric in mordant for at least 12 hours
• Rinse well, and transfer fabric to the dyepot Note: it is faster to follow a 'hot mordanting' process, but cold mordanting is less likely to cause damage to the silk

Step 3: Extract the dye:

• Exact process varies with the individual dyestuff. Some dyes (brazilwood, sandalwood) need to be oxidized before extraction. Madder roots should be soaked first in cold water to leech off undesirable orange producing chemicals, then ground. Cochineal, which is an insect, needs to be ground into a powder. Indigo requires such a completely different preparation process that I instead use a relatively new invention, freeze-dried indigo crystals. The crystals are dissolved in hot water, thus reconstituting the dye.
• Place in pot, cover with +/-2" water, and bring to a simmer
• After at least ½ hour, strain dye liquid into a large pot of clear water
• Add more water to pot with dyestuff, and repeat the process at least 1-2 times
• Strain the dye into a large pot ½-3/4 filled with clear water & discard the leftover grinds

Step 4a: Dye the fabric (does not apply to indigo):

• Add wet fabric to dye pot, and stir well
• Slowly raise the temperature of the pot to no more than 150 degrees F. Any higher and the silk can lose its luster. Wool can be heated to above 200 degrees F.
• Stir constantly, and frequently lift fabric from pot to loosen folds & creases that can trap colorant & cause uneven dyeing
• Remove from dyepot when color is a shade darker than you want the final color to be
• Colors can be modified with chemical assists (fermented bran, lye) or an after mordant (iron, copper). They can also be modified by manipulating the PH level of the dyebath.
• Allow fabric to air cool; rinse cooled fabric in clear water
• Repeat if necessary, including overdyeing with a different color, rinsing after each trip to the pot.
• Wash fabric with PH neutral soap
• Rinse again, and hang up to dry (not in direct sun)

Step 4b: Dye the fabric (indigo):

• Indigo will dye all fiber types (plant, animal) without the use of a mordant.
• Once the dye has been reconstituted, it behaves like a regular indigo vat.
• Indigo is not always worked over a heat source, as it works best at less than 100 degrees F.
• Items will appear green when they first come out of the dye, and it is exposure to oxygen that turns them blue.
• Care must be taken not to introduce too much oxygen into the indigo vat, because oxidation will turn the dye into a stain. Color run remover can be used to destroy the oxygen & revive the vat, but I've not had success doing so with freeze-dried indigo.
• The best way to achieve a deep blue is to dip the item multiple times, rather than leaving it in for prolonged periods. Long soaking only increases the amount of color bleeding on future washings.
• Items can be dyed first in another color, then overdyed with indigo, or the reverse. You will see noticeable differences in the final color depending on whether the indigo was applied first or second.
• (Rinsing & washing needed as with any dyed item--see above!)

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Primary Sources
Anon. (15th Century). Segreti per Colori. English translation by Mary Merrifield, originally published in Original Treatises on the Arts of Painting, 1846, and available online at http://costume.dm.net/dyes/segreti.htm.

Hunt, Tony (1995). "Early Anglo-Norman receipts for colours." Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, 58, 203-209.

Philip, William (1596). A Booke of Secrets. London: Adam Islip for Edward White. [This is a 16th C collection of dye recipes and instructions for stain removal.]

Rosetti, Gioanventura (1548) The Plictho of Gioanventura Rosetti: Instructions in the Art of the Dyers which Teaches the Dyeing of Woolen Cloths, Linens, Cottons, and Silk by the Great Art as Well as by the Common. Reprint by S. M. Edelstein and HC Borghettym, trans. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1969.

Smith, Cyril S and John G. Hawthorne, eds. (1974) Mappae Clavicula: A Little Key to the World of Medieval Techniques. Philadelphia: Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, New Series, volume 64, part 4. [This is an English translation of a 12th century collection of pigment, dye and miscellaneous other recipes.]

Scholarly Sources
Bettey, J.H. (1978). "The cultivation of woad in the Salisbury area during the late 16th and 17th Centuries." Textile History, 9, 112-117.

Betty, J.H. (1982). "The production of alum and cooperas in Southern England." Textile History, 13(1), 91-95. (check pages again)

Brunello, Franco (1973). The Art of Dyeing in the History of Mankind. English translation by Pheonix Dyeworks, Cleveland, Ohio.

Grierson, Su (1986). The Colour Cauldron: The History and Use of Natural Dyes in Scotland. Perth: Charles T Branford for the author.

Jenkins, David, editor (2003). The Cambridge History of Western Textiles, vol. 1.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (Hereafter cited as CHWT)

Jørgensen, Lise Bender (2003). "Scandinavia, AD 400-1000." CHWT, 132-138.

Lee, Raymond L. (1951). "American cochineal in European commerce, 1526-1625." Journal of Modern History, 23(3), 205-224.

Leggett, William F. (1944). Ancient and Medieval Dyes. Brooklyn, NY: Chemical Pub. Co., Inc.

Ron, Moshe (1981), "The Sydney M. Edelstein Collection of the history of dyeing, bleaching and dry cleaning of textiles. " Textile History, 12, 118-128.

Sandberg, Gosta et al. (1997) The Red Dyes: Cochineal, Madder, and Murex Purple A World Tour of Textile Techniques.

Taylor, G.W. (1987). "New light on the insect red dyes of the ancient middle east." Textile History, 18(2), 143-6.

Taylor, G.W. (1990). "On the nature of dyeings with madder and related dyestuffs." Dyes in History and Archaeology, 9,

Timar-Balazsy, A. and W. Roelofs (1987). "Investigation of the dyes on the Hungarian Coronation Mantle." Textile History, 18(1), 87-96.

Rogers, Penelope Walton (2003). "The Anglo-Saxons and Vikings in Britain, AD 480-1050." CHWT, 124-132.

Walton, Penelope (1988). "Dyes and Wools in Iron Age Textiles from Norway and Denmark." Journal of Danish Archaeology, 7, 144-158.

Walton, Penelope (1988). "Dyes of the Viking Age: A Summary of Recent Work." Dyes in History and Archaeology, 7,

Wild, John Peter (2003). "The Eastern Mediterranean, 323 BC- AD 350." CHWT, 102-116.

Vogelsang-Eastwood, Gillian M. (2003). "The Arabs, AD 600-1000." CHWT, 158-165.

Modern Dyeing Guides
Buchanan, Rita (1995). A Dyer's Garden: From Plant to Pot Growing Dyes for Natural Fibers. Interweave Press.

Dean, Jenny (1999). Wild Color: The Complete Guide to Making and Using Natural Dyes. New York: Watson-Guptill Publications.

Liles, JN (1990). The Art and Craft of Natural Dyeing: Traditional Recipes for Modern Use. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press.

LINKS

More details on Crimson Silk and a Green Silk by Kateryn Rouse

Colors, dyestuffs and mordants of the Viking Age. Article by Mistress Thora.

The Dye Woorkes: Medieval and Renaisance Dye Recipes. Webbed by Mistress Drea Lead.

Griffen Dyeworks. Run by SCAdians, sells many hard to find dyes and a location for GREAT chemical details on mordants.

Orchil, the Poor Person's Purple