Dyeing Process

Design Resource

Lungi Weaving - Vellore

South Indian Traditional Men's Wear

Prof. Bibhudutta Baral, Divyadarshan C. S. and Amulya S.

Dyeing Process

Dyeing is a huge process that involves chemicals, water and massive human strength. There are several techniques in dyeing processes like chemical dyeing, natural dyeing and indigo dyeing. There is other several bifurcations like full hank yarn (weft yarn) dyeing and pattern dyeing (warp yarn) which involves tie and dye technique.

There are house constructed for the dyeing purpose only, in which there are several cement tanks, water firewood boiling tanks, small machineries like drying machines; rotating motor and many more, which is a basic requirement for dyeing process.

There are different types of chemical dyes like direct dyes, Sulphur dyes, Reactive dyes and Vat dyes. In direct dyes the yarn is dipped into the dye without mordant chemical process. In Sulphur dyes the yarns are dyed with sulphur reactors and organic compounds. These dyes are stronghold until it is bleached. Basically dark colors such as blue, black, brown are dyed with sulphur dyes. In Reactive dyes the substance is synthetic material where it enacts like a bonding cover for the yarn, which protects the fabric from damage or fading.

Vat dyeing is followed in lungi weaving in Gudiyatham, Vellore. In Vat dyes and Naphthol dyes are the colours are not soluble in water thus it requires special procedure is followed to dye the fibre. Chemicals and acids are used in this dyeing process. The chemicals are brought from Bombay, Madras, Kanchipuram. Each color has got its own characteristic and code in vat dyes. This dyeing is done inside a vessel. Very bright light colors and fast color effective is achieved by vat dyes. Jeans material is basically given vat dyeing only. The yarn is boiled when it is firstly brought, which later it is dipped into the solution made out of the Mordant chemical and cool water. Mordant chemical helps in roughening the surface of the yarn, which helps in the dye color to sit. Later on the particular chemical color dye powder is mixed well with acetic acid proportionately and poured into the water tank. The yarn is immersed into the water, which consists of the dye color chemical and acetic acid in which the yarn observes the chemical. Later on the yarn is boiled in water solution of cystic, soda and hundred X to obtain the color. More the boiling of the water gets darker the dye color appears. After the dyeing is complete the yarn is again put into soap oil, which gives the shiny effect to the yarn.

Natural dyeing itself defines the process that the yarn is dyed with natural colors, which are extracted from tree barks, insects, flowers, vegetables, minerals, rust and natural materials. Woolen is the best fibre to observe the natural dye efficiently other than any other material because of its roughness surface. It is difficult to natural dye the cotton yarn without mordanting the fibre.

Indigo Dyeing is one of the oldest dyeing forms followed in textile industry in olden times. This form of dyeing doesn’t contain harmful chemical nor toxic metals. These dyeing colors enact like a chameleon by changing its color once it is removed to air.

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Lungi Weaving - Vellore