Naturally dyeing the wool

Wool can come in natural colours, those of the wool on the sheep, or they can be dyed to get the vibrant blues, reds, purples, and the other colours commonly used in handmade carpets.

The reds, pinks, and purples come from a plant called the madder, which grows wild in Eastern Turkey. Sometimes these red colours are obtained from an insect, either the red cochineal insect or the kermes insect. The yellows are often obtained from saffron or turmeric. The blues come from soaking and fermenting the indigo plants and blacks are obtained from the mineral iron oxide. Other colours can be made by mixing these colours and there are many other sources for natural dyes.

Dying process

Women are the ones who traditionally dyed the plants in Turkey and Central Asia. All of the plants required for the production of dyes were collected throughout the year and the dying of the wool generally happened in the fall. Most natural dyes won’t set and become colourfast. There are a few that will, including the indigo dyes and some lichens, and these are called substantive dyes. These are the dyes that will chemically adhere to the fibre of the wool on their own. The rest of the dyes, known as adjective dyes, need what is called a mordant in order to help the colour adhere to the fibre.

There are three types of mordants that are used, depending on the dye that is being used. There are the metallic mordants, such as the metal salts of aluminium, chromium, iron, copper, and tin. There are tannins, such as myrobalan and sumach. Then there are oil mordants, which are used primarily to set the red dyes in Turkish rugs.

To dye the wool, the wool itself was boiled with the dye and the mordant, if one is needed. Once dyed and dried, the wool can then be handspun into the yarns that will be used for the carpets. As you can see, a lot of time and effort goes into making natural dyes and dying the wool for use in the rugs. Natural dying is a time honoured tradition in areas of the world where handmade rugs are produced. Using handmade dyes is also an environmentally friendly alternative to synthetic dyes.

Why natural dyes are better?

Natural dyes are preferable to synthetic dyes because they generally create more beautiful colours and these colours tend to be more uneven, which gives a more natural look to the rug. Natural dyes also do not fade as easily when exposed to the sun and when they do fade they tend to look even more beautiful than before. Controversial synthetic dyes can be economical particularly for shades of red but the beauty of natural and vegetable dyes makes all the difference!

Many carpets are made nowadays with an industrial wool, cotton or silk but in our store we are keeping up with tradition of hand spun wool, cotton or silk. At CarpetView.com, nearly all of our rugs are made with natural dyes. If a rug is made with a synthetic dye, we will be sure to let our customers know. We take pride in selecting the highest quality handmade rugs for our customers and part of that quality is the quality of the natural colours used in the rugs.

Red, Pink, Violet colors

One of the most important coloring agents is the madder; a common plant that grows wildly in the Eastern part of Turkey. Various dyes or red and pink come from the root of madder. When combined with a mixture of milk or fermentated grape juice, the madder root yields a violet dying.

The bright red cochineal insect also provides red dyes, as well as the kermes of insect that lives in the bark of oak trees.

Yellow colors

Wild saffron provides a reddish-yellow, whereas white cultivated saffron gives us a pure –yellow color. A lighter yellow comes from the root of turmeric while a fungus of the mulberry bush provides a green-yellow color.

Blue, Brown and Black colors

The soaking and fermentation of indigo plants from China and India brings the blue. The infrequently used black color comes from the iron oxide, and this is the only dye of mineral origin.

However, the acid substance obtained from soaking iron shaving with vinegar can provide a corrosive effect on wool. Brown color could be obtained by mixing madder with yellow or very commonly, from the shells of green walnut, gallnuts and valonia. The brown color has a tendency to dull with aging.