RangxKaSha

3

Ra-ng

By Ka-Sha

I About the author
II About the Book

Natural dyeing -

III through a looking glass
IV Sources of Natural Dyeing
V Techniques for Dyeing
VI Dyeing Recepies
VII Fabric Samples
VIII After Care
IX Do’s and Don’ts
X Glossary
XI Bibliography

5

Contents

6

Sitting beside each other in first year, to finding mutual
interests and working together, we have come a long
way having fun all along, to build the A-Team. So when
we had to make a book we brainstormed and discovered
our common love for colours, we just knew we had to
do something with it. To make a book on the natural
processes of dyeing, the inspiration comes from our
inclination towards spotting various colours around us.
Our motive always remains to do something close to
home and always make sure we enjoy it along the line.

/ About the Curators

7

A reference book guiding you on the process of
natural dyeing right out of your kitchen, while telling
you everything you need to know to make the your
journey of dyeing enjoyable. We have joined hands
with Sustainable fashion label Ka-Sha , they being a

huge preacher of hand dyed pieces themselves.
Rang attempt you to bring a step closer to nature
and discover the endless colours that onion in your

kitchen can bring to your life.

/ About the Book

8
/ Natural Dyeing

9 NATURAL DYEING - THROUGH A LOOKING GLASS

Natural dyeing is an ancient tradition and the techniques behind this art
hardly vary across the world (even if styles of textiles may be regional).
It’s likely that natural dyeing was informed by cooking, as the process of
extracting pigment is exactly like boiling food.
In China, dyeing with plants, barks, and insects has been traced back more
than 5,000 years Early evidence of dyeing comes from Sindh province
in Pakistan, where a piece of cotton dyed with a vegetable dye was
recovered from the archaeological site at Mohenjo-daro (3rd millennium
BCE). The dye used in this case was madder, which, along with other dyes
such as indigo, was introduced to other regions through trade.
Natural dyes are obtained from natural sources. Most are of plant origin
and extracted from roots, wood, bark, berries, lichens, leaves, flowers,
nuts, and seeds. Of the thousands of natural color substances, very few
became significant commercially. Dyestuff refers to the plant or other
material from which the dye is extracted. Complete palettes are achieved
by dyeing in one bath and sequential dyeing in two or more baths.



11

Launched in 2011, Ka-Sha is inspired by
Indian crafts, aesthetics and colours. Ka-
Sha is a mix of contemporary and Indian

clothing, which allows the wearers to
style the garments the way they like
while adapting the garments to their
daily needs. The designs are multi-
cultural and not limited to a particular
style so as to cater to a large audience
and modern customers. The brand aims
to help increase fair trade and benefit
craftsmen at the primary level for their

revival and longevity.

12

TURMERIC

/ Sources of Dyeing

SOURCES OF DYEING

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ROSE

14

BLUEBERRIES

/ Sources of Dyeing

15

AVOCADO

/ Sources of Dyeing

BAHAAR

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/ Maria Tunic

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Shibori

Shibori is a resist dyeing process
that involves preventing the dying
of the fabric by using threads
in the desired pattern. The dye
is prevented from entering the
fabric in specific regions by the
tied threads, resulting in a unique
design each time.

/ Techniques of Dyeing

19 TECHNIQUES OF DYEING

Tie and Dye

a hand method of
producing patterns in
textiles by tying portions
of the fabric or yarn so
that they will not absorb
the dye.

20

Batik

method of dyeing in which
patterned areas are covered
with wax so they will not
receive the colour. The
method is used mainly on
cottons and in the traditional
colours of blue, brown, and
red.

/ Techniques of Dyeing

21

Ombre

Ombré is a French word that
means “to shade” and is used to
describe a dip-dye effect applied
to fabric in which the colour
shades progress from light
to dark. This technique is like
imperfection, ends up looking
like it’s coloured by hand.

/ Techniques of Dyeing

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HEART TO HAAT

23

/ Bada Tote Bag

MAR GOLD

Ingredients Process

Stainless steel pot 1. First you will need to immerse your white
20-30 marigolds fabrics in a heated scouring bath for 40 minutes.
Gloves
Mordant 2. Next immerse your fabrics in the mordant bath
Wooden spoon heated for one hour. Then turn off the heat and
Strainer stay immersed for 12-24 hours.
Cotton fabric
3. Heat up a pot of water large enough to handle
Scan the code for your fabrics. Put in the Marigold flowers and let it
reference video extract for 30 minutes.

4. Wash off your fabrics and tie in the design of
your choosing.

5. Immerse the fabrics in the dye for 30-45
minutes or until the color you are looking for is
fully extracted.

6. Remove from dye and hang to dry. Once fully
dry, wash gently with cold water.!

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/ Recipie : Marigold

BEETRO T

Ingredients Process

Stainless steel pot 1. Pour about 2 liters of water in your vessel and
Chopped/grated bring it to a boil. Chop the beets. Use more beets
beetroots and less water, for a deeper rose color.
Gloves
Salt/vinegar 2. Cover the beets in your large pot with water so
Wooden spoon that the water level is about 2” above the beets.
Strainer
100% cotton Fabric 3. Bring to a boil and simmer at a low boil for
about an hour.
Scan the code for
reference video 4.Strain the beets, add 1tbs of apple cider vinegar
and/or 1 tbs of salt to your beets while you boil
them to retain the dye.

5. Place your fabric into the water. Stir it around
with a spoon until the beet water has soaked
through the entire garment.

6. Let the clothing sit in the beet water for no
more than 3-4 hours. 6-8 hours overnight was
plenty of time to allow the beet water to soak in.

7. After you remove the clothing from the dye,
allow it to drip dry.

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/ Recipie : Beetroot

NION

Ingredients Process

Stainless stell pot 1.Add onion skins to the cooking pot and cover
20-30 onion peels with enough cool water. Place the pot on a
Gloves low-medium heat with the lid on. The dye will
Mordant intensify over time and should darken with
Wooden spoon oxidization.
Cotton fabric
Strainer 2. In the meantime, scour the fabric by putting
it in the washing machine on a cold rinse cycle.
Scan the code for
reference video 3. Remove the pot from the heat and strain it
into the bucket, then add the strained dye back
into the pot.

4. Add the fabric to the dye bath, Put the dye
bath on a low heat and stir it frequently to
avoid dye patches.

5. When you’re happy with the fabric colour,
remove it from the dye bath and add it to the
washing machine for a quick spin cycle *

6. Hang the fabric on a washing line or drying
rack; avoiding direct sunlight

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/ Recipie : Onion

NDIGO

Ingredients Process

A 20ltr bucket for your 1. Hydrate your indigo pigment by adding it to
vat a small sealed container with a few marbles and
Stir stick or spoon warm water and shake for about 30 seconds.
Gram scale
Face mask 2. Add your indigo pigment, calcium hydroxide, and
Rubber gloves reducing agent to the hot water.
A stock pot
Drop cloth 3. stir the liquid in the bucket in one direction in a
Calcium hydroxide circle creating a vortex. Cover your vat with a lid
Reducing agent (Henna, when it is not in use or being stirred. Let it sit for
fructose, iron powder etc) 24-48 hours before you dye in it.
Cotton fabric
4. Your indigo vat is ready for dyeing when the
Scan the code for liquid of the vat is amber yellow.
reference video
5. pre-wet your fabric by soaking it in a bucket of
water. Squeeze out excess water from the fabric

6. Slowly lower your fabric into the vat. dip it for
about 5 minutes. You’ll notice your fabric is green
when it comes out of the vat!

7. Let your fiber oxidize in the air for 15 minutes.
When it is fully oxidized, it will appear totally blue.

8. You may repeat this process of dipping and
oxidizing as many times as you like to build color.

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/ Recipie : Indigo

SPINACH

Ingredients Process

Stainless steel pot 1. One involves blending the material with hot
a bunch of spinach water. To make natural spinach dye using this
Gloves method, chop up the spinach (or other veggie
Mordant or fruit product) and put the chopped pieces in
Wooden spoon the blender.
Strainer
Cotton fabric 2. Add two cups (480 mL.) of hot water for
every cup (240 mL.) of spinach.
Scan the code for
reference video 3. Then strain the mixture through a strainer
and add a tablespoon (15 mL.) of table salt.
If you want to make spinach dye without a
blender, simply chop up the spinach or other
veggie pieces and place them in a small
saucepan.

4. Add twice as much water as you have
spinach, bring it to a boil, then allow it to
simmer for an hour.

5. Once the product has cooled, strain it well.
Then you can start using spinach to dye fabric.

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/ Recipe : Spinach

Fill these swatches with your own dyeing experiments. Dye the fabric with the help
of the recipies and videos across the book and have fun enjoying the journey...

PANTONE PANTONE
20-087 20-087
Marigold Beetroot

PANTONE PANTONE
20-087 20-087
Onion Spinach

35 TAKE A BREAK - ACTIVITY

PANTONE PANTONE
20-087 20-087
Indigo I Indigo II

PANTONE PANTONE
20-087 20-087
Indigo III Indigo III

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SARAL

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/ Clam Scarf

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/ After Care

39 AFTER CARE

• We recommend spot cleaning if there is a mark rather thanputting
the whole garment in the wash too frequently.

• You can wash your naturally dyed clothes at 30 degrees If you are
washing these with other clothes, try to keep brights, lights and
darks separate – just incase synthetic dyes rinse out of their fabric
and tint your naturally dyed clothes.

• If you would like to put your clothing in the dryer – use a cool or low
heat setting. When drying your clothes outside, try to dry them in
the shade as sunlight can fade colours over time.

• If you have a stain on your clothing, try soaking it in cool water with
some washing liquid. This will help loosen the particles that have
stained the clothing. After soaking the clothes, they can then go in
the washing machine.

• To help preserve the colour you can wash your garments inside out,
wash separately and remove from the washing machine promptly
after the cycle is finished.

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/ Dos and Don’ts

41 DO’S & DON’T WHILE DYEING

• Handle all chemicals with care - bearing in mind that some
dyestuffs, as well as mordants, may be toxic.

• Always wear gloves - preferably surgical ones for weighing
powders and long- sleeved gauntlets for working with indigo
and woad. Household gloves are fine for everything else.

• Put nothing in your mouth while working with dyes - unless
you first remove your gloves, wash your hands thoroughly
and move away from the work area.

• Keep the work area well ventilated - for both health and
comfort. An extractor fan is useful for taking away any
vapours from mordant pans and for making the area more
pleasant when simmering the more pungent dyestuffs.

MANTHAN

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/ Adam Jacket

Important tools you need for Dyeing

/ Glossary

Dye bath 28 GLOSSARY
A dyebath is a solution of dye and water or other liquid in
which textiles are dyed

Exhaust Bath
Using a mordant bath or dye bath multiple times to absorb
all of the possible mordant or remaining dye in the pot.

Indigo 30
A plant from which a deep navy blue dye can be produced.

Mordant 24
A mordant is a chemical used in combination with dye
to “fix” the color in the textile fibers. By using different
mordants, dyers can often obtain a variety of colors and
shades from the same dye

Mordanting
A process of heating a mordant in water and adding
fiber. The fiber is stirred in the mordant bath for a period
of time at a high heat and then allowed to cool. This
mordanted material then can be dyed with natural dyes.

Natural Dye 09
Dyes made from natural substances, usually from the
bark, leaves, roots, flowers, or wood of a plant.

Ombre 21
Ombré is the blending of one color hue to another, usually
moving tints and shades from light to dark.

Oxidisation
It is a process of exposing fabric to air to allow fastening of dye
and chemical substances after dyeing. This process is achieved
by spreading the fabric under shade before rinsing.

Pigment 09
A substance consisting of small particles that is insoluble in the
applied medium & is used primarily for its coloring properties.

Reducing Agent 30
Exerts reducing power under acidic conditions.It
contributes to improving productivity and saving water
and energy because it can performs reduction clearing
without changing the liquid after dyeing

Resist 18
a method of preventing dye from absorbing into fabric or paper
etc. often creating designs or patterns e.g. shibori, tie-dye
screen printing, ikat, batik

Scouring 24
In textile processing, treatment of textile materials in aqueous
or other solutions to remove nature fats, waxes, proteins and
other constituents as well as dirt, oil and other impurities.

Tannin
A organic chemical compound that is sourced from oak galls
and other organic materials and is used to assist fiber to absorb
mordants and thus dye more affectively.

Vat Dyeing 30
A dyeing technique, used for indigo, that breaks down organic
materials in a combination solution to make the organic
material water-soluble and work as a natural dye.

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dyeing
• https://www.fibre2fashion.com/industry-article/3871/dyeing
• https://indianculture.gov.in/textiles-and-fabrics-of-india/type-of-textile/dyeing
• https://www.unnatisilks.com/blog/indian-dyes-and-dyeing-industry-during-18-19th-

century/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dye
• https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/70564
• https://kalpavriksh.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Natural-Dyeing-paper-

December-2001.pdf (https://thekaatntrail.com/pages/product-care
• ​h​ ttps://www.kickstarter.com/projects/g-uld/g-uld-dyeing-with-plants-a-book-about-

natural-dyeing
• https://allnaturaldyeing.com/natural-dye-colors/
• http://sustainabilityforschools.org/assets/chemistry-guide-for-teachers.pdf
• https://thevoiceoffashion.com/centrestage/features/ka-shas-contemporary-crafts-

lore-3894/
• https://www.gagehillcrafts.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/IMG_3379.jpg
• https://www.indulgexpress.com/fashion/new-launches/2019/may/17/ka-sha-ties-

up-with-keralas-weavers-to-explore-a-fresh-narrative-for-khadi-in-her-pre-fall-19-
line-14903.html
• https://www.thesprucecrafts.com/thmb/xAV7tYoWF_
cSveO4BlP2CYnnDYM=/3865x2576/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/
fresh-spinach-leaves-in-colander-on-wood-604375571-5aa096463128340037f8a51b.
jpg

• https://www.pexels.com/photo/photograph-of-orange-marigold- BIBLIOGRAPHY
flowers-9240114/

• https://www.instagram.com/p/CW74t26PMek/
• https://www.pexels.com/photo/wooden-clip-and-blue-sky-10397929/
• https://www.pexels.com/photo/anonymous-person-dyeing-textile-on-

street-6851169/
• https://hookedanddyed.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/

img_2546-e1546817402307.jpg
• Trends- Growing Popularity of Natural Dyes in India (why synthetic dye and

not natural)
• Indian designers shifting to natural dyes - News: industrie (#1184593).
• https://hookedanddyed.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/

img_2546-e1546817402307.jpg
• Misc - https://food52.com/blog/14982-the-art-of-natural-dyeing-6-colors-

to-start-with
• https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/news-analysis/architectural-

digest-indias-craftsmanship-issue/
• https://tensstudio.com/pages/washing-instructions-for-naturally-dyed-

clothes
• https://organicsymmetry.in/blogs/easy-natural-dyeing/easy-natural-dyeing-

at-home-with-beetroots
• https://www.pexels.com/photo/blue-yarn-on-heap-of-textile-6850489/
• https://cdn.apartmenttherapy.info/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto:eco/k%2Far

chive%2Fd061c6d3b2ddd2d7bb294fe79c9a592cf2d612c6

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Acknowledgement