Developing Dark Color of Silk Fabrics by Combination Dyeing with Lac and Indigo

Abstract

This study was conducted to develop dark color through combination dyeing of natural dyestuffs. Silk fabrics were dyed in a combination of natural indigo and lac. Fabrics used in this study were treated with three kinds of mordant (aluminum, iron, and zinc) before and after combination dyeing. Following this, the color characteristics of silk fabrics dyed using combination dyeing were measured. The resulting colors of the silk fabrics differed on the basis of which combination dyeing sequence was used. It was found that dyeing with lac followed by indigo resulted in a dark grayish red purple color (RP), while dyeing with indigo followed by lac showed a dark grayish red color (R). The eventual colors of silk fabrics dyed with a combination of lac and indigo all showed a dark grayish color tone when pretreated with mordant but were slightly different depending on the type of mordant used. It was found that combination dyeing with lac and indigo developed the dark tone of red (R), yellow red (YR), red purple (RP), and purple (P) colors.