Stained- when color is not held fast

Wild plants and berries provide a rich variety of bright colors for cloth. Most dyes require the use of a "mordant" to fix the color permanantly. Mordants make the dye bite harder, binding the dye into the fibres.Fabrics all react differently to dyes- one that works on wool may not work on cottons. Mordants may change the shade of the color produced however.

The most common mordants are alum. cream of tartar, ferrous sulfate (iron), tin potash. Aluminum tends to brighten a dye and iron darkens it, but both fix the color. Iron has been know to darker yellow dyes to almost green, so this is where an aluminum is a better choice. A mordant is always added before dyeing the fabric. More specifically these are metal salts and cause a chemical reaction to the fabric . Some crude native alums can be found in wood ash and sediment of bog pools.

The dyes on Pern come from plants and other sources, but one of the indigenous sources is the fellis plant, though the DLG lists berries and other plants successfully transplanted.

The main way to dye using barks is by having the dyestuff immersed in cold water then brought to a boil, so the color can be released (this can be a few hours for certain tree barks). Leave the liquid to cool, then the fabric is put in and brought back to a boil, then simmered. Squeeze the fiber out and then dry.

1. Black- bogpool sediments, yellow flag, elder bark
2. Brown- lichen, seaweed, peat soot, water lily, onion skins
3. Blue- blackberries (use aluma dn salt), sloes, bilberries
4. Red- madder
5. Yellow- heather,bracken,dock, autumn crocus
6. Yello/Green- elder leaves(plus alum)

• Blue- Indigo- obtained from the indigo plant, woad- a herb similar to indigo and long lasting, Mahonia berries, Meadowsweet flowers.
• Red- Lichen, Bloodroot, Madder, geranium flowers, Hemlock bark
• Green- Fellis plant, Bracken, A variety of leaves from Privet, Lily of the Valley, Nettle and Weld, Horsetail.
• Yellow- Barberry, Broom flowers, Ragwort, Weld, St.johnswort, Onions, Lichen, Black Oak bark, Saffron, Mulberry(from the wood), Morin, Crocus flowers
• Brown- Hickory, Walnuts, Grey Lichen, Wood chips, Madder.
• Purple- Sea Snails, Tyrian, Madder.
• Orange- Shellfish, Lady's bedstraw, Madder, Onions
• Black and grey- Ashes, Alder bark, Blackberries, Buckthorn berries, Yellow flag Iris roots.
• Berries of all kinds create various shades of reds, oranges and yellows.

Fabrics are dyed by being immersed in a liquid solution called a dye liquor, or dye bath. Cotton and wool can be dyed as raw fibers, spum yarn or woven cloth.

Three things as important-

• Diffusion- spreading the solution through the fibers.
• Affinity- holds the dye to fiber- color fast in liquid.
• Fast- not easily removed dye- either washing of sunlight. Fastness in washing is more important for work clothes than furniture covering or wallhanging.

The basic method for solid color dyeing- completely one color. Also called vat dyeing or garment dyeing.

• Wash the fabric to remove any dirt, grease and starch. Use Sweetsand for dirt and grease.
• Dissolve the salt colpletely in the required amount of lukewarm water.
• Dissolve the dye completely in a cup of warm water, then add to the tub and stir to mix evenly.
• Add fabric and stir constantely (or at least every 3-4 minutes) for about 20 minutes.
• Disolve Soda Ash in hot water and add slowly over 15 minutes to dye bath, while stirring. Don't pour directly on the fabric. Stir frequently- 30 min for light colors, 1 hour for deep colors.
• Remove and rinse out excess dye.
• Wash in hot water using Sweetsand.
• The amount of Soda Ash and Salt are a function of the amount of water used. the water must cover the fabric with enough room for thorough. tangle free stirring; otherwise you get uneven dyeing and streaking.

A process used to whiten cotton products, typically using chlorine. "White" cotton in its natural state is an off-white, cream color. The bleaching process uses extra energy and water, and also creates hazardous waste. Most dyed cotton products are also bleached before dyeing, to create darker or brighter colors or to make the colors more uniform.

A biodegradeable citrus-based solution used to clean cotton.