Dyeing

Dyer in Anatolian Villages is very respected figure of the villages where people would consult him for various matters. Following the tradition, information about dyes and plants is handed down from father to son and stayed in the family. Since all these dyes are in the nature and very easily reached by the nomads and villagers, they have been used for centuries.

Here some of the dyes used by Turkish nomads and villagers:

Dyes Woad Civit Otu.
When this plant is boiled, according to its boiling length. Various tones of blue are obtained. Dyes Woad grows wild in Central and Western Anatolia. Dyer Woad and some other plants are used to yield indigo, which is the oldest dye used in Anatolia.

Madder Root Kok Boya.
The root of Madder plant, which grows wild in Central Anatolia, is one of the best sources for red color. Madder Plant, which reaches the height of 1.5, meters in two years gives various tones of red.

Walnut Ceviz Brown.
Walnut tree which is encountered every region of Turkey is the source of very attractive brown color. Walnut, which reaches the height of 25 meters, is native tree to Turkey. Nearly Turkey produces 20% of the world walnut output. Fruit is covered with thick rind, which is used to obtain green and brownish-black shades. Coloring agent is brow dye, which adheres directly to wool fibers without a mordant.

Pomegranate Nar.
Its pinkish-violet colored flowers easily distinguish pomegranate, which grows in every part of turkey. Fresh or dried skin of the fruit is used for dyeing. According to mordant used along the skin, either yellowish brown or brownish black colors obtained.

Deep yellow.
This plant which grows at 3000-meter altitude is the source of deep yellow color. It grows mainly in Central Anatolia. The unripe fresh or dried fruits of the BuckThorn is used to contain the dye. When it is used with the alum mordant, deep yellow color obtained.

Spurge Sutlegen Yellow Color.
Spurge, which grows all over Turkey, is source of yellow dye. All the parts of the plant except roots are used for obtaining yellow color. Spurge is used in Central and Inner Western Anatolia for the cottage industry.

Wild Camomile Papaya yellow color.
Camomile which grows wildly on the western and southern Anatolia gives us excellent shades of clear yellow, especially when it s used with alum mordant.

Sage three leafed sage.
Sage which grows al over Mediterranean countries blossoms from march to August. Its leaves and stamps fresh or dried are good for obtaining yellow color.

Chemical Dyes.
Chemical dyes were first introduced into Persia and Turkey in the 19th century but results were not so satisfactory because of fast fading. In 1903, strict precautions were taken in Persia to stop the use of these aniline dyes. Persian government indicated that any workshop using these aniline dyes would be burnt down or any weaver using these dyes would loose his right hand. These restrictions made Persian weavers went back to natural dyes till the arrival of more reliable chromium dyes which arrived between First and Second World Wars. Today's chromium dyes are very reliable and they offer unlimited color palette.