Historically Dye My kilt

[Bugbear]

what pre-modern dyes would have been used for each color in the kilt I am wearing in this picture?
* picture removed *
Thank you.

[MacMillans son]

I've got no photo here Bugbear
Edit: Ive got it now

[figheadair]

By pre-modern dyes I assume you mean natural dyes as opposed to early chemical ones which date to the mid-1800s.

Whilst I very much doubt that those colours/shades would ever have been combined in the natural dye era if they were then the most likely dyes would have been:

Light blue - indigo

Black - something like oak or alder bark with an indgo top dye.

Brown - there are many sources but possibly a lichen dye such as crotal or an imported hardwood bark.

[Spartan Tartan]

I know absolutely NOTHING about dyes....but I do like your outfit. Very sharp look. And for my tartan education, what is the name of the tartan you have on in the picture?

[Bugbear]

Thanks, figheadair.
I think there is a dark green on the kilt too, if I remember correctly.

[Bugbear]

I know absolutely NOTHING about dyes....but I do like your outfit. Very sharp look. And for my tartan education, what is the name of the tartan you have on in the picture?

Thank you.

Well... it was being sold under the name of "Weathered Lamont" by Stillwater kilts.
It is not the full sett of the Lamont, there are only a single set of double black stripes. For a long time, I referred to it as a half sett Lamont, but never considered it to be a real Lamont tartan.

A while back, figheadair said that was actually a variant of a
*** Here is the correct name given, forget the Gordon part:
"Smiths' Campbell of Argyll"
http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/f...16/#post933990
***
I'm having trouble locating the post, But something about "Smith's" if I remember correctly.

So... I don't know what it is.

[xman]

Bugbear,

There is no Green in that kilt. Since it's a Weathered colour set the Green is rendered as Brown.

[Bugbear]

Bugbear,

There is no Green in that kilt. Since it's a Weathered colour set the Green is rendered as Brown.

Ok, thanks. It's been so long since I thought about it that I can't remember so well.

[Bugbear]

For what it's worth, here are the other two pictures.

Sorry, I only have three good pictures. * pictures removed *

[Steve Ashton]

Ted,

There are some really good books out there that may help you. Most of the ones on the site I'm linking to are pretty good. A bit technical but full of good information.

They are also paperbacks which should lay flat enough for your reader.

http://www.imperial-purple.com/books.html

So many people today think that early dyes were all plant based. While many were, it was not just the plant extract that was used. Most processes involved the combination of three, or as many as 10 different things. Most of the things were minerals. It was the chemical reaction that occured between the mixed things that produced the color.
For example in many parts of the world the Cambriam layer of Willow, and willow like, trees mixed with urine and heated, produced a deep black color which could be used as a textile dye or a pigment for paint.

Another very important part of the dyeing process is the use of Mordants which was mentioned in a previous post. Almost all fiber dyes need a mordant to set the dye.
Mordants are commonly minerals such as the salts of aluminum, Chromium, Copper, Iron, Potassium and Sodium.
As was mentioned earlier different Mordants with the same dye would produce different colors. Heat and time are also important.

In my chemistry days I remember the professor going on and on about some of the things used for dyes and pigments. He used to talk about urine, feces, rotten things and the boiling of these just to watch the girls squirm.

One of the things that I remember most was the Fulling process. If your name is Fuller you may not want to know where your name comes from.

The names Fuller, Tucker and Walker are some of those names that come from what you did for a living like Fletcher and Mason.

Fulling, Tucking or in Scots Gaelic 'Waulking' is the name for the process of cleaning and preparing Wool cloth for dying and/or felting. It entails large wooden vats, Fullers Earth, (or fine dicotomous clay) and all the urine collected from all the slop pots of an entire village. In goes the raw wool cloth, the fullers earth and the urine. Then you climb in and "walk" on it for about four hours.

The chemical process was due to the ammonium salt content of the urine combing with the aluminum silicate of the Fullers Earth to break up the oils on the wool releasing the dirt.