Natural Dyes for Silk

Over the last few years’ interest towards natural dyes has been increasing, the reason being manifold, including those of ecological movement, bio-degradability and higher compatibility of natural dyes with environment. Natural dyes are usually preferred on natural fibre fabrics composed of organically grown cotton, hemp, wool and silk. Silk is the most beautiful continuous filament and the fabrics made out of it have exceptionally pleasing lustre, soft handle and comfort. The rapid changes in trends and fashion and the demand for good fastness properties on textile substrates require a basic database describing possible applications and performance of natural dyes. This work describes the extraction of dyes from products / by-products obtained from five different sources which are of little use commercially and available abundantly in the nature. The application and the performance attributes of these dyes on silk, influence of different mordants on colour values and fastness properties are also presented which would serve useful to handloom industry, entrepreneurs and individuals interested in natural dyeing and natural products.