Nature in her unerring wisdom has provided colours. Designers and scientists tried to learn from nature the mysteries of colour. They accumulated this knowledge and use it to discover all shades and hues. Natural plants as a source of colours represent crops of great economical importance. There are a lot of plants showing dyeing properties which exist in the nature. We can find dyes in fruits, flowers, seeds, shoots, roots, barks, trees core, rinds and lichens. Different parts of the same plant may give different colours. Every season brings us new shades and properties. To make production of natural dyes on commercial scale viable it is necessary to find plants relatively cheap in cultivation. During our research a group of plants showing dyeing properties has been selected. Those plants have been classified into three colour groups: blue, yellow and red. In our research program we tested more then twenty natural dyestuff with a view to their commercial exploitation. The return to natural dyeing methods has been promoted by several factors: 1. Reconstruction of traditional methods for artists and restorers. 2. Conservation and restoration of old textiles. 3. Intention of keeping our planet habitable. 4. The usage in eco-friendly fabrics and clothing collections. 5. Low environmental impact. 6. Renewabilty of the resources. 7. Cultivation of dye plants as a new possibility to limit unemployment. Colour play an important role for artists and designers. In recent years we have observed visible come back of the interest in natural raw – materials and techniques which had been often completely forgotten. The aim of our program is creation of colour cart for natural fibres, introduction of cultivated plants for dyeing and promotion of our result in modern textile design. . The main aim of the research was to reactivate old and often forgotten dyeing methods, testing of dyes for their durability to weather factors, testing of their efficiency on the one hand and to devel
By: Katarzyna Schmidt-Przewoźna Institute of Natural Fibres, Poznań, Poland
Submit Date: 12/31/1999 20:00