Cool Color

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Cool Color! Where'd it come from?
How clothes USED to be dyed
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OK, So Tell Me

• How many of you have seen YELLOW sheep?
• OK, how about a Purple cotton bloom?

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Nope, Me EitherSo Whered We Get The Colors?

• Today we use by-products from coal and
  petroleum to create synthetic dyes. Synthetic
  means anything that is not found naturally. These
  dyes are cheap and potent a little goes a long
  way

But, has it ALWAYS been like that?
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Of Course Not!So, A Brief History of Dyes.But
First, Some Trivia!!

• 2600 BC is the first written record of dyed
  fabric it came from China
• Red dye was used by Alexander the Great in 331 BC
  to fool enemies into thinking that his soldiers
  were wounded

• As of 1290 there were only 3 major dye material
  woad (blue), madder (red), and weld (yellow)
• Clothing that was dyed (especially purple) was
  very valuable to trade with up to the 15th
  century

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A Brief Look at Natural Dyes

• Until 1856 the only way to dye clothing was using
  natural ingredients. Flowers, berries, and even
  lichens were some of the materials used to dye
  with. The plant stuff was crushed and boiled. The
  material was added and boiled again, then left to
  dry.
• Material was boiled in a fixative that helped
  keep the dye from running when it was washed.

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The Downsides of This Method?

• It was very time-consuming
• It took a lot of plant stuff to create a dye
• Only a few types of cloth could be dyed well
  cotton, wool, silk
• There were only a few colors that could be
  created naturally
• The coloring often was uneven and dull
• It was expensive to buy dyed material

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And Then

• In 1856 William Henry Perkin, who was 18 years
  old at the time, was trying to discover a cure
  for malaria. Instead what he discovered was that
  a by-product of the petroleum based solution he
  was using made a perfect mauve dye.

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Perkin Realized That

• This dye was cheap to produce, much more vivid
  than anything found naturally, and probably worth
  a lot of money. Perkin immediately bought a
  factory and began producing his dye. It is said
  that Queen Elizabeth wore one of his dyed gowns!

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Perkin Continued

• To manufacture his dye and experiment with other
  tar-based dyes. He was successful in creating a
  red dye also. He continued to work in the dye
  industry until the age of 36. He then sold his
  company for enough to allow him to go back to
  pure research without having to worry about money
  ever again!

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Now its Your Turn

• What fruits, vegetables, or plants do YOU think
  would make good dyes? If you lived in the 18th
  century, what would you choose to try? Talk about
  it in your groups and come up with three natural
  items you think would make the best dyes!