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Dyeing

"Oh to be out dyeing when the light is from the East!
Then is color kissed by rosy dawn! 
Oh to be out dyeing when the light is from the West!
For then the sun will set on all that's wrong!
Oh to be out dyeing!
Better that than to be dying!
Oh to be out dyeing!
In any light at all!"

-Anonymous Dyer of an Unknown Tribe

Obviously, when speaking of the process of dyeing in English, one can encounter many reactions.  I'm afraid some people have thought I was suicidal when I've expressed my desire to "just dye".  I assure them now that I was merely speaking out of a passion for color creation and nothing more.  Dye is one of my favorite subjects, as is wool!  Now combine the two and I could go on for pages.  I'll try, however, to be short and sweet.  And maybe I'll save my bad puns for when you're least expecting them.

Dyeing is itself an art form.  Finding just the right color combinations is never an easy task, and then mixing the colors just right takes even more skill.  In the realm of oriental rugs, dyes play an extremely important role in determining how collectible and valuable a piece is on the current market and will become with time.  

In ancient times, dyeing was recognized as a great skill and craft.  The color of the cloth you wore daily was a lot more than just a fashion statement; it often was an expression of your lineage and status in life.  Purple was a royal color worn only by kings because the dye used to create that color came from a shellfish and was extremely difficult to find and extract.  In Medieval Europe, dyers organized themselves into guilds so they could more easily protect their secret dye recipes.  In Iran, families would go to great lengths to protect their dye processes from discovery by rival dye houses.  If someone else could produce the colors you could, you were out of business.

After the spinning of the wool into yarn is completed, the dyer takes over.  The process in tribal tradition is different than for village and city productions.  In the old day in the tribal areas, weavers often used the natural colors of sheep for their weavings.  When yarn was dyed, it was a communal experience.  Women from several families would collect dye stuffs, then bring their wool together and get several different dye pots going at once.  The yarn was brought to a boil, and the dyestuffs were added.  Everyone would share in the work and materials, and then they would divide the yarns of different colors among them. 

Today I think the hand spun wool is often traded for machine spun wool which is then used in weaving, or it is used in natural colors to make the tent or other necessities.  For weavers of the past and for those living in remote areas, dyed wool would be a great treat, especially wool dyed in bright colors.  So the next time you buy an old bag or carpet with bits of bright fuchsia, orange, turquoise or green in it, know that the tribal weaver was putting her best into it, and that she wishes you well. 

In villages and cities, dyeing is usually left to a specialist.  In Iran today, dyeing is still recognized as a great skill.  The ability to achieve different hues and shades requires knowledge of chemical reactions and interactions.  This brings us to the major controversy in the dyeing realm- the division between yarns dyed with natural dyes and those dyed with synthetic dyes.  

Natural dyes-

Much has been written about the merits of natural dyes.  I think it amazes people that the ancient ones could achieve a full range of colors without using any "chemicals", but the truth is that all dyeing is about chemistry.  The ancient ones merely used plants, bugs, metals, and parts of animals to create chemical processes which produced different colors on different fibers.  It was a lot like cooking class.  Different groups would simmer together different ingredients and try to produce more colors, or different shades of colors.

Because of the use of organic materials to create different hues and shades, when yarn dyed with these methods aged or oxygenated over time, the colors faded and mellowed.  As seen in nature, the colors were monochromatic and were often based on the three primary colors: yellow, red, and blue.  These three primary colors were then over-dyed with the other primary colors to produce the secondary colors: green, purple, and orange, respectively.  By then controlling the shades of these different colors, it was possible to achieve a palette which blended well together because its basis was the same.  As time aged and faded the colors, because they had all been dyed with varying shades of the same dyestuffs in order to achieve the different hues, they then faded to colors which still complimented and accented each other.  No natural dyes were terribly obnoxious in terms of shade or hue- they were mainly the colors found in nature.

The main dyestuffs are:

For primary colors:
    Blue- Indigo
    Red- Madder root in Western Persia, Cochineal (an insect) in Eastern Persia
    Yellow- saffron, onion skins, marigold

Other colors:
    Black- Dark Indigo over dyed with walnut skins
    Brown- walnut skins 
    Purple- shell fish

As mentioned above, secondary colors were created by over-dyeing the primary colors with each other.  There were also other plants which would produce different shades and hues when combined with different mordants on various fibers.

Today in Iran, natural dyes are still used in some areas.  Synthetic indigo and madder which are chemically identical to natural indigo and madder are widely used.  In many areas, the tribes have continued to use the dyestuffs which have been available for centuries in combination with yarns dyed with synthetic dyes.  It is possible to find pieces where natural dyes are used, but the dyes were used incorrectly and so fade too quickly or are not desirable color combinations.  Although natural dyes are much praised, the use of them does not guarantee a quality rug.  

Synthetic dyes- Until about 1850, all dyestuffs used in the world were derived from natural sources- bugs, bark, plants, metals, etc.  After that time, synthetic dyes gradually seeped into the dye works and undermined the traditional craftsmanship of the specialized dyer.  As synthetic dyes became widely available, they were often used because it was easier to produce more uniform dye batches, and to achieve the same colors time after time.  The process of dyeing itself was less time consuming.  Today synthetic dyes are used regularly, and, when used well, can produce desirable and admirable effects. 

With synthetic dyes used in oriental rugs, the main division comes between synthetic dyes which will eventually fade, and those that will never fade, but will always retain that lovely fuchsia or orange hue in just the same intensity.  The first synthetic dyes were lovely at first, but with time they all faded to grays and beige colors.  

Today most dyers using synthetic dyes use the kind which will eventually fade.  With these dyes, which are also called acid dyes, the color is chemically bonded to the fiber and as the fiber wears, the dye, too will wear out, thus fading.  In this way, these dyes fade in much the same ways as natural dyes.  The effect is such that a rug dyed with these kinds of dyes will age and mellow and acquire a certain elegance.  The advantage to these dyes over natural dyes may well be that they will not fade as quickly.

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