Navajo rugs, blankets and weavings
sheep to rugs - Vegetal Dye - page 2 of 2

For thousands of years, dyes were obtained from natural sources, such as plants and animals. In spite of the fact that synthetic dyes have replaced many natural dyes for commercial use, natural dyes still hold a fascination and are used extensively by artisans around the world. The most common type of natural dyes are acid or anionic dyes used on eggshells and wool.

While Navajo weavers experimented with native yellows in early years, extensive use of vegetal dyes did not occur until the 1920s. Almost any part of the native plants including leaves, stems, roots, nuts, berries, or flowers, could be used to produce a possible dye source. More than 250 native vegetal dye colors have been discovered to date. The principal colors produced at present, are delicate shades of yellow, beige, brown, tan, rose red, green and orange. One plant can produce several colors by altering the intensity of the dyebath, length of time immersed, or amount of plant material used.

Most dye baths are prepared hot. After the yarn has soaked for several days, it is hung to dry. Some early vegetal dyes were known to fade, but most modern vegetal dyes are resistant to both fading and bleeding.

The indigo plant cultivated by the Spanish in the Old World, produced a rich blue color. The leaves of the indigo plant were first fermented, dried, and cut into cubes before being exported to the New World through the Spanish Colonial trade network. the The Navajo also used blue legume dyes from species closely related to indigo. Cochineal dye was a product of an insect or native beetle and produced a range of color shades from pale pink to orange to dark maroon. Shades of yellow were obtained from a variety of wild plants, primarily rabbit brush. Green shades were produced by mixing vegetal yellow dye with the indigo blue dye. The combinations of plant colors and shades obtainable are almost limitless.

Until the end of the 19th century, all colors were obtained from natural sources, but today the number of synthetic colorants exceeds 7,000. Synthetic dyes from coal tar (aniline) produce a wide array of colors and are more colorfast. The first synthetic dye was a violet color dye discovered in 1856, and the assortment of colors that could be synthesized quickly increased. Early synthetic dyes had a tendency to fade and to bleed when exposed to dampness. New commercial synthetic dyes with subtler color tones that resembled native vegetal dyes were developed in the 1930s. Both the deep and subtle color synthetic dyes continue to be used in contemporary weaving. The majority of the new synthetic dyes are resistant to both fading and bleeding.

Dying wool for Navajo rugs - page 1

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