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Dyeing is the application of
dyes Juan de Guillebon, better known by his stage name DyE, is a French musician. He is known for the music video of the single "Fantasy (DyE song), Fantasy" from his first album ''Taki 183 (album), Taki 183''. This video became popular, attracting ...
or
pigments A pigment is a powder used to add or alter color or change visual appearance. Pigments are completely or nearly solubility, insoluble and reactivity (chemistry), chemically unreactive in water or another medium; in contrast, dyes are colored sub ...
on
textile Textile is an Hyponymy and hypernymy, umbrella term that includes various Fiber, fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, Staple (textiles)#Filament fiber, filaments, Thread (yarn), threads, and different types of #Fabric, fabric. ...
materials such as
fiber Fiber (spelled fibre in British English; from ) is a natural or artificial substance that is significantly longer than it is wide. Fibers are often used in the manufacture of other materials. The strongest engineering materials often inco ...
s,
yarn Yarn is a long continuous length of interlocked fibres, used in sewing, crocheting, knitting, weaving, embroidery, ropemaking, and the production of textiles. '' Thread'' is a type of yarn intended for sewing by hand or machine. Modern ...
s, and
fabric Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, and different types of fabric. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is no ...
s with the goal of achieving color with desired color fastness. Dyeing is normally done in a special solution containing dyes and particular chemical material. Dye
molecule A molecule is a group of two or more atoms that are held together by Force, attractive forces known as chemical bonds; depending on context, the term may or may not include ions that satisfy this criterion. In quantum physics, organic chemi ...
s are fixed to the fiber by absorption, diffusion, or bonding with temperature and time being key controlling factors. The bond between the dye molecule and fiber may be strong or weak, depending on the dye used. Dyeing and printing are different applications; in printing, color is applied to a localized area with desired patterns. In dyeing, it is applied to the entire textile. The primary source of dye, historically, has been
nature Nature is an inherent character or constitution, particularly of the Ecosphere (planetary), ecosphere or the universe as a whole. In this general sense nature refers to the Scientific law, laws, elements and phenomenon, phenomena of the physic ...
, with the dyes being extracted from
plant Plants are the eukaryotes that form the Kingdom (biology), kingdom Plantae; they are predominantly Photosynthesis, photosynthetic. This means that they obtain their energy from sunlight, using chloroplasts derived from endosymbiosis with c ...
s or
animal Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the Biology, biological Kingdom (biology), kingdom Animalia (). With few exceptions, animals heterotroph, consume organic material, Cellular respiration#Aerobic respiration, breathe oxygen, ...
s. Since the mid-19th century, however, humans have produced artificial dyes to achieve a broader range of colors and to render the dyes more stable for washing and general use. Different classes of dyes are used for different types of fiber and at different stages of the textile production process, from loose fibers through
yarn Yarn is a long continuous length of interlocked fibres, used in sewing, crocheting, knitting, weaving, embroidery, ropemaking, and the production of textiles. '' Thread'' is a type of yarn intended for sewing by hand or machine. Modern ...
and cloth to complete garments. Acrylic fibers are dyed with basic dyes, while
nylon Nylon is a family of synthetic polymers characterised by amide linkages, typically connecting aliphatic or Polyamide#Classification, semi-aromatic groups. Nylons are generally brownish in color and can possess a soft texture, with some varieti ...
and protein fibers such as
wool Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have some properties similar to animal w ...
and
silk Silk is a natural fiber, natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be weaving, woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is most commonly produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoon (silk), c ...
are dyed with acid dyes, and
polyester Polyester is a category of polymers that contain one or two ester linkages in every repeat unit of their main chain. As a specific material, it most commonly refers to a type called polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Polyesters include some natura ...
yarn is dyed with dispersed dyes.
Cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...
is dyed with a range of dye types, including vat dyes, and modern synthetic reactive and direct dyes.


Etymology

The word 'dye' (, ) comes from the
Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman Conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English pe ...
, and from the
Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...
and . The first known use of the word 'dye' was before the 12th century.


History

The earliest dyed
flax Flax, also known as common flax or linseed, is a flowering plant, ''Linum usitatissimum'', in the family Linaceae. It is cultivated as a food and fiber crop in regions of the world with temperate climates. In 2022, France produced 75% of t ...
fibers have been found in a prehistoric cave in
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
and dates back to 34,000 BC. More evidence of
textile Textile is an Hyponymy and hypernymy, umbrella term that includes various Fiber, fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, Staple (textiles)#Filament fiber, filaments, Thread (yarn), threads, and different types of #Fabric, fabric. ...
dyeing dates back to the
Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...
period at the large
Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...
settlement at Çatalhöyük in southern
Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...
, where traces of red dyes, possibly from ocher, an
iron oxide An iron oxide is a chemical compound composed of iron and oxygen. Several iron oxides are recognized. Often they are non-stoichiometric. Ferric oxyhydroxides are a related class of compounds, perhaps the best known of which is rust. Iron ...
pigment A pigment is a powder used to add or alter color or change visual appearance. Pigments are completely or nearly solubility, insoluble and reactivity (chemistry), chemically unreactive in water or another medium; in contrast, dyes are colored sub ...
derived from
clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolinite, ). Most pure clay minerals are white or light-coloured, but natural clays show a variety of colours from impuriti ...
, were found.Barber (1991), pp. 223-225. In
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
, dyeing with plants, barks, and
insects Insects (from Latin ') are hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs of jointed ...
has been traced back more than 5,000 years. Early evidence of dyeing comes from
Sindh Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind (caliphal province), Sind or Scinde) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, southeastern region of the country, Sindh is t ...
province in
Ancient India Anatomically modern humans first arrived on the Indian subcontinent between 73,000 and 55,000 years ago. The earliest known human remains in South Asia date to 30,000 years ago. Sedentism, Sedentariness began in South Asia around 7000 BCE; ...
modern day
Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
, where a piece of cotton dyed with a vegetable dye was recovered from the archaeological site at
Mohenjo-daro Mohenjo-daro (; , ; ) is an archaeological site in Larkana District, Sindh, Pakistan. Built 2500 BCE, it was one of the largest settlements of the ancient Indus Valley Civilisation, and one of the world's earliest major city, cities, contemp ...
(3rd millennium BCE).Bhardwaj, H.C. & Jain, K.K., "Indian Dyes and Industry During 18th-19th Century", ''Indian Journal of History of Science'' 17 (11): 70-81,
New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...
: Indian National Science Academy.
The dye used in this case was madder, which, along with other dyes such as
indigo InterGlobe Aviation Limited (d/b/a IndiGo), is an India, Indian airline headquartered in Gurgaon, Haryana, India. It is the largest List of airlines of India, airline in India by passengers carried and fleet size, with a 64.1% domestic market ...
, was introduced to other regions through trade. Natural insect dyes such as
Cochineal The cochineal ( , ; ''Dactylopius coccus'') is a scale insect in the suborder Sternorrhyncha, from which the natural dye carmine is derived. A primarily sessility (motility), sessile parasitism, parasite native to tropical and subtropical Sout ...
and kermes and plant-based dyes such as
woad ''Isatis tinctoria'', also called woad (), dyer's woad, dyer's-weed, or glastum, is a flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae (the mustard family) with a documented history of use as a blue dye and medicinal plant. Its genus name, ''Isati ...
, indigo and madder were important elements of the economies of Asia and Europe until the discovery of man-made synthetic dyes in the mid-19th century. The first synthetic dye was William Perkin's mauveine in 1856, derived from
coal tar Coal tar is a thick dark liquid which is a by-product of the production of coke and coal gas from coal. It is a type of creosote. It has both medical and industrial uses. Medicinally it is a topical medication applied to skin to treat psoria ...
. Alizarin, the red dye present in madder, was the first natural pigment to be duplicated synthetically in 1869, a development which led to the collapse of the market for naturally grown madder. The development of new, strongly colored synthetic dyes followed quickly, and by the 1870s commercial dyeing with natural dyestuffs was disappearing. An important characteristic was light-fastness - resistance to fading when exposed to sunlight using industrial techniques such as those developed by James Morton.


Methods

Dyeing can be applied at various stages within the textile manufacturing process; for example, fibers may be dyed before being spun into yarns, and yarns may be dyed before being woven into fabrics. Fabrics and sometimes finished garments themselves may also be dyed. The stage at which a product is dyed varies depending on its intended end use, the cost to the manufacturer, its desired appearance, and the resources available, amongst other reasons. There are specific terms to describe these dyeing methods, such as: * Dope dyeing: In dope dyeing,
pigment A pigment is a powder used to add or alter color or change visual appearance. Pigments are completely or nearly solubility, insoluble and reactivity (chemistry), chemically unreactive in water or another medium; in contrast, dyes are colored sub ...
s are added to the
polymer A polymer () is a chemical substance, substance or material that consists of very large molecules, or macromolecules, that are constituted by many repeat unit, repeating subunits derived from one or more species of monomers. Due to their br ...
solution itself before extruding the fibers. The process provides the dyed fibers with excellent fastness properties. The dope dyeing applies to
synthetic fiber Synthetic fibers or synthetic fibres (in British English; see spelling differences) are fibers made by humans through chemical synthesis, as opposed to natural fibers that are directly derived from living organisms, such as plants like cott ...
only. This method of dyeing is also known as solution dyeing and 'mass coloration' or 'mass colored'. It has limited color options. * Fiber dyeing: In fiber dyeing, the dyeing takes place at the fiber stage before they are spun into yarn. It is also called stock dyeing. Examples are melanges and medleys. * Yarn dyeing: In yarn dyeing, the yarns are dyed first before the fabric manufacturing stage. The yarn dyeing happens in hanks or in package dyeing. Package dyeing is a method where yarns are wound on perforated cones placed in a dye vessel. The dye solution is then alternatively pushed inside out and vice versa. Examples are many stripes, patterned (checks) and jacquard designed fabrics. * Piece dyeing: In piece dyeing, the dyeing takes place after producing fabrics with undyed yarns. Most of the solid dyed fabrics are dyed with the piece dyeing method, and the materials are also called piece dyed. * Garment dyeing: In garment dyeing, the garments are constructed of undyed, but ready-for-dyeing, fabrics.


Terms for different dyed materials

There are various terms used in the manufacturing and marketing industries depending on the method used to dye the substrate. For example, "stock dyed" refers to dyeing the fibers before making the yarn, "yarn dyed" refers to dyeing the yarns before producing fabrics, and "piece dyed" or "fabric dyed" refers to dyeing the yarns after they are converted into fabric. The fastness of fiber- and yarn-dyed materials is superior to that of fabrics.


Objective

The primary objective of the dyeing process is to achieve uniform color application in accordance with a predetermined color matching standard or reference on the substrate, which may be a fiber, yarn, or fabric, while meeting specified colour fastness requirements. Tie-dye and printing are the methods where the color is applied in a localized manner.


Application


Exhaust method

In the exhaust method, the dye is transported to the substrate by the dye liquor's motion. The dye is adsorbed onto the fibre surface and ideally diffuses into the whole of the fibre. Water consumption in exhaust application is higher than the continuous dyeing method. There are three corresponding ways of dyeing with the exhaust method. # Liquor circulating: loose stock, sliver, tow, yarn or fabric, is packed into canisters, wound onto cones or perforated beams and placed inside the dyeing vessel. In this way the liquor is pumped and revolves through the material which is stationary. # Material circulating: Fabric winch dyeing and jiggers are the few forms in which material remains in motion and liquor stationary. In this the material moves through the stationary liquor. # Liquor and material both in motion: Jet dyeing and softflow dyeing application methods where material and liquor both remain in motion.


Continuous method

In continuous method dye is transported to the substrate by passing it through the different stages but continuously. The continuous method is an innovative method where many discrete dyeing stages are combined, such as applying color, fixation and, washing off of unfixed dyes. Types of continuous dyeing are as follows * Pad-steam * Pad dry * Thermosol Cold pad batch method is a semi-continuous dyeing process.


Waterless dyeing method

Waterless dyeing, also known as dry dyeing, is the newly developed and more sustainable dyeing method in which the dyes are applied to the substrate with the help of
carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalent bond, covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in a gas state at room temperature and at norma ...
or solutions that need less or no water compared to their counterparts.


Selection of dyes

The selection of the appropriate dyes is most important because any given dye does not apply to every type of
fiber Fiber (spelled fibre in British English; from ) is a natural or artificial substance that is significantly longer than it is wide. Fibers are often used in the manufacture of other materials. The strongest engineering materials often inco ...
. Dyes are classified according to many parameters, such as chemical structure, affinity, application method, desired colour fastness i.e. resistance to washing, rubbing, and light. The properties may vary with different dyes. The selection of dye depends on the objective in dyeing and affinity (to which material is to be dyed). Fastness of
color Color (or colour in English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English; American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, see spelling differences) is the visual perception based on the electromagnetic spectrum. Though co ...
largely depends upon the molecular size of the dyes and the solubility. Larger molecular size serves better washing fastness results.
Indigo dye Indigo dye is an organic compound with a distinctive indigo, blue color. Indigo is a natural dye obtained from the leaves of some plants of the Indigofera#Uses, ''Indigofera'' genus, in particular ''Indigofera tinctoria''. Dye-bearing ''Indigofer ...
s have a poor wash and rubbing fastness on denim (cotton), so they are used to produce washed-down effects on fabrics. In contrast, vat or reactive dyes are applied to cotton to achieve excellent washing fastness. The next important criterion for selecting dyes is the assessment of hazards to human health and the environment. There are many dyes especially disperse dyes that may cause allergic reactions to some individuals, and the negative impact on the environment. There are national and international standards and regulations which need to comply.


Direct application

The term "direct dye application" stems from some dyestuff having to be either fermented as in the case of some natural dye or chemically reduced as in the case of synthetic vat and sulfur dyes before being applied. This renders the dye soluble so that it can be absorbed by the fiber since the insoluble dye has very little substantivity to the fiber. Direct dyes, a class of dyes largely for dyeing cotton, are water-soluble and can be applied directly to the fiber from an aqueous solution. Most other classes of synthetic dye, other than vat and surface dyes, are also applied in this way. The term may also be applied to dyeing without the use of mordants to fix the dye once it is applied. Mordants were often required to alter the hue and intensity of natural dyes and improve color fastness.
Chromium Chromium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Cr and atomic number 24. It is the first element in Group 6 element, group 6. It is a steely-grey, Luster (mineralogy), lustrous, hard, and brittle transition metal. Chromium ...
salts were until recently extensively used in dyeing wool with synthetic mordant dyes. These were used for economical high color fastness dark shades such as
black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...
and
navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...
. Environmental concerns have now restricted their use, and they have been replaced with reactive and metal complex dyes that do not require mordant.


Yarn dyeing

There are many forms of
yarn Yarn is a long continuous length of interlocked fibres, used in sewing, crocheting, knitting, weaving, embroidery, ropemaking, and the production of textiles. '' Thread'' is a type of yarn intended for sewing by hand or machine. Modern ...
dyeing. Common forms are the package form and the hanks form. Cotton yarns are mostly dyed at package form, and acrylic or wool yarn are dyed at hank form. In the continuous filament industry, polyester or polyamide yarns are always dyed at package form, while viscose rayon yarns are partly dyed at hank form because of technology. The common dyeing process of cotton yarn with reactive dyes at package form is as follows: # The raw yarn is wound on a spring tube to achieve a package suitable for dye penetration. # These softened packages are loaded on a dyeing carrier's spindle one on another. # The packages are pressed up to a desired height to achieve suitable density of packing. # The carrier is loaded on the dyeing machine and the yarn is dyed. # After dyeing, the packages are unloaded from the carrier into a trolley. # Now the trolley is taken to hydro extractor where water is removed. # The packages are hydro extracted to remove the maximum amount of water leaving the desired color into raw yarn. # The packages are then dried to achieve the final dyed package. After this process, the dyed yarn packages are packed and delivered.


Space dyeing

Space dyeing is a technique of localized color application that produces a unique multicolored effect.


History of garment dyeing

Garment dyeing is the process of dyeing fully fashioned garments subsequent to manufacturing, as opposed to the conventional method of manufacturing garments from pre-dyed fabrics. Up until the mid-1970s the method was rarely used for commercial clothing production. It was used domestically, to overdye old, worn and faded clothes, and also by resellers of used or surplus military clothing. The first notable industrial use of the technique was made by Benetton, which garment dyed its Shetland wool knitwear.


Complex garment dyeing

In the mid-1970s the
Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...
clothing designer Massimo Osti began experimenting with the garment dyeing technique. His experimentation over the next decade, led to the pioneering of not just the industrial use of traditional garment dyeing (dyeing simple cotton or wool garments) but, more importantly, the technique of “complex garment dyeing” which involved dyeing fully fashioned garments which had been constructed from multiple fabric or fiber types (e.g. a jacket made from both nylon and cotton, or linen, nylon and polyurethane coated cotton) in the same bath. Up until its development by Osti (for his clothing brand C.P. Company), this technique had never been successfully industrially applied in any context. The complexity lay in developing both a practical and chemical understanding of how each fabric responded differently to the dye, how much it would shrink, how much color it would absorb, developing entirely new forms of quality control to verify possible defects in fabric before dyeing etc. Beyond the industrial advantages of the technique (purchasing fabric in one color, white or natural, you may produce as many colors as you wish etc.), the artistic advantages of the technique were considerable and in many ways paved the way for the creation of the clothing style today known as Italian Sportswear. These advantages included * the way in which different fibers absorbed the dye's color allowed for the creation of incredibly nuanced differences in color tones and a harmony that is impossible to achieve any other way * the garment dyeing process naturally gave the fabric a “worn-in” hand allowing for the development of the casual and relaxed version of the classic menswear look which characterizes Italian sportswear * the fact that each fabric and fiber type responds differently to the dye also produces a “deconstructed” effect, whereby the consumer's attention is drawn to the construction techniques of the jacket. For example: a more densely woven fabric absorbs the color less intensely than a more open weave, the polyester stitching used for a cotton garment does not absorb any dye color, producing a contrast color stitch etc. The disadvantages included: * a relatively high failure rate for garments (between 5–10%) * the difficulty in achieving a very tailored look due to difficulties in precisely calculating shrinkage rates * high research and prototyping costs in order to understand how fabrics will behave in production Today, whilst garment dyeing is a diffusely employed as an industrial technique around the globe, predominantly in the production of vintage style cotton garments and by
fast fashion Fast fashion is the business model of replicating recent catwalk trends and High fashion, high-fashion designs, mass production, mass-producing them at a low cost, and bringing them to retail quickly while demand is at its highest. The term ''fast ...
suppliers, complex garment dyeing is still practiced almost exclusively in Italy, by a handful of premium brands and suppliers who remain committed to the art.


Related terms

There are several terms associated with the process of dyeing:


Affinity

Affinity refers to the chemical attraction between two elements or substances, leading to their inclination to unite or combine, as observed between fiber and dyestuff.


Bleeding

Materials that exhibit bleeding tendencies may lead to the staining of white or light-colored fabrics in contact with them while in a wet state. The phenomenon of color fading from a fabric or yarn upon immersion in water, solvent, or a comparable liquid medium, arises due to inadequate dyeing or the utilization of inferior quality dyes.


Staining

Fabric can experience undesired color absorption, resulting in staining, when exposed to water, dry-cleaning solvent, or similar liquids containing unintended dyestuffs or coloring materials. Additionally, direct contact with other dyed materials may cause color transfer through bleeding or sublimation.


Stripping

Stripping is a method used to partially or entirely remove color from dyed textile materials. It can also be utilized as a reprocessing technique to correct imperfect dyeing.


See also

*
Glossary of dyeing terms :''This glossary contains terms specific to dyeing. For terms used in the creation or manufacturing of textiles, including spinning, knitting, weaving, and individual fabrics and finishing processes, see Glossary of textile manufacturing. For t ...
* Natural dye *
Tie-dye Tie-dye is a term used to describe a number of resist dyeing techniques and the resulting dyed products of these processes. The process of tie-dye typically consists of folding, twisting, pleating, or crumpling fabric or a garment, before binding ...
* Vat dye * Resist dyeing * Wet processing engineering


References

{{Authority control Dyeing Crafts History of chemistry Organic chemistry Textile chemistry