Traditional Natural Dyes

[figheadair]

Going through my filling cabinet I came across these samples from a dye workshop I took part in in 1985. These colours and shades were all produced using naturals dyes used in the Highlands in the 18th century. They nicely show how terminology such as 'Old/Ancient', 'Modern' and 'Muted' colours is at odds with the real thing.

[Jock Scot]

Some of those colours and shades are wonderful Peter. A few of questions if I may?

Am I right in thinking that "shades" of colour----red, green, blue, etc.------ in tartan of that time were not really a consideration in those days, particularly when designing a tartan? In other words, red was red and green was green and so on? At what period did this rather more precise colour(shade) choice become more of a consideration in tartan design particularly when the precise shade of colour is used to symbolise the colour of a particular tree in the autumn/sky/terrain/colour of grandmother's eyes/etc.?

What proportion of the dyes were home grown(UK perhaps) and what proportion were imported at that time?

[The Q]

Would I be correct in thinking that these nice bright colours would fade rapidly with rain /sunlight/ washing as colour fixing wasn't perfect until modern chemical colours?

[Mike S]

Having more than a passing degree of knowledge in this area, natural dye colors like many reds, greens, blacks and yellows are especially fugitive (i.e. they are prone to fading).

[Nathan]

I have had curtains sun bleach pretty dramatically before. I wonder if they had used natural dyes at the factory. The exposed parts of the curtains went from a rich, deep, burgundy to an orangey pink.

[figheadair]

I have had curtains sun bleach pretty dramatically before. I wonder if they had used natural dyes at the factory. The exposed parts of the curtains went from a rich, deep, burgundy to an orangey pink.

I guess that it would depend on their age. I can see anything post 1850 still being naturally dyed, not in Europe anyhow. Having done some fading tests with modern tartan it seems to faded out evenly eventually going almost white given time. I've examined a pair of curtains made from a plaid woven in the early 18th century and latterly hung in direct light for over 100 years. The colours had dulled and the green altered to a sort of khaki whereas the red and blue were still quite strong.

[figheadair]

Would I be correct in thinking that these nice bright colours would fade rapidly with rain /sunlight/ washing as colour fixing wasn't perfect until modern chemical colours?

No, you would not. Some natural dyes are very light and wash fast, others less so. Dyes preferred to use the former whenever possible. Similarly, modern chemical dyes can fade, especially in bright sunlight.

Some of those colours and shades are wonderful Peter. A few of questions if I may?

Am I right in thinking that "shades" of colour----red, green, blue, etc.------ in tartan of that time were not really a consideration in those days, particularly when designing a tartan? In other words, red was red and green was green and so on? At what period did this rather more precise colour(shade) choice become more of a consideration in tartan design?

What proportion of the dyes were home grown(UK perhaps) and what proportion were imported at that time?

Jock, perhaps I should start by defining a couple of terms. Whilst not an exact dictionary definition, and open to interpretation, I tend to use colour as a term to refer to the base group: red, blue, green etc., and shade to the depth or hue of these colours; hence: light, dark, ruby azure, crimson etc. The trouble with the latter is that one man's crimson might be another man's garnet and so on.

You are right to assume that the shade was not too important in the past i.e. pre-Culloden. Good shades would have of course been preferable but the cost and quality of dyestuff, plus the dyer's skill would affect the end result. Red was the most variable colour one sees in old specimens, ranging from a dull pink through dull cherry to scarlet. The latter was the high art of the natural dyer's skill but was a difficult and cost shade. Wearing a tartan with lots of red was to make social statement about one's wealth which is why most portraits of chiefs show them wearing a predominately red pattern. Blue as a main colour was invariably dark but as a highlight, light blue was popular. Green was mostly often a dull mossy/sage shade and only occasionally dark. One has to remember of course that the majority of the surviving specimens were most likely associated with the gentry and that they represent the top end. The poorer people would have had far less choice in what they could use and would have worn less showy plaids.

The range of things that could affect the outcome of a dyelot was considerable and a rural natural dyer would have had to assume that each dyelot would be slightly different, we still get that today even with chemical dyes and computer technology. Therefore, the dyer/weaver would need to calculate how much yarn was needed before weaving if they were to ensure uniformity throughout a piece of cloth. Standardised colours and shades did not exist until the latter part of the 18th century when Wilsons started working with standardied recipes in large volumes with known dyestuff quality. They achieved a tolerable uniformity given the variables that they still had to contend with. so, until about 1780 there was no such thing as a standard tartan so far as the shades were concerned.

From examination of the surviving 18th century specimens and trade records we know that red and blue were almost always produced with imported cochineal (occasionally lac) and indigo respectively. Both dyestuffs had been imported through Scotland since the early 1700s. It's possible that some blue was dyed with Woad, a home-grown indigo source, but it is chemically difficult to determine the difference so we cannot be sure. That said, imported, true, indigo was much stronger and so preferred. By that date yellow-wood and other exotic bark dyes were also available but local, traditional, sources such as, Weld, Heather, and several other sources were still commonly used. Green was obtained by top-dyeing yellow. Poorer people may well have used many more indigenous dyestuffs but the pieces don't survive to allow us to test the hypothesis. On the west coast I would have thought lichen dyes would have been commonly used as some, such as dark crotal have good light fast properties and I very much doubt that it was suddenly discovered when they started making Harris Tweed in the mid-1800s.