Natural dyes

Cochineal is an extract of a dried insect inhabiting tropical countries. It gives a bright and fast scarlet on a tin mordant and is still used for dyeing some high-quality uniform cloth by a single-bath process.

By the end of the nineteenth century a large number of synthetic dyes were available in a vast range of often brilliant colours. Natural dyes have now been almost entirely superseded by the synthetic products, except for a few specialised uses. Logwood, the only natural dye still in large-scale use, is however used for dyeing not only silk and wool, but also secondary cellulose acetate and nylon.

 

 

Indigo was the main natural dye used to yield blue shades; its fastness to light was outstanding when compared with other natural dyes. As a result it achieved particular importance. Even so, the bacterial fermentation process used for its extraction from either Indigofera or woad plants was highly unpleasant and prompted Queen Elizabeth I to order the curtailment of the production of woad.