Learning about Dyes & Threads

Have you ever looked at two threads in the same color, one silk and one cotton, and wondered why these matching threads don’t match? Or looked at a skein of Oriental Linen, made from silk and linen, looks dappled?

The key to this is the combination of fibers and dyes.

Fibers, the stuff threads and cloth that make them, come in three types: animal, plant, and man-made.

Animal fibers are made from parts of animals. Silk is made from the cocoons of silkworms. Wool is made from the hair of various animals that are obtained by combing or shearing the fur. Animal fibers are made from protein.

Plant fibers are made from various kinds of plants. Some kinds of plant fibers are cotton, linen, and bamboo. They are all made from cellulose.

Man-made fibers are those fibers not from animals or planets that were originally made in labs. Nylon and polyester are two common man-made fibers. These fibers can be made from many things.

This is important because each type of fiber needs different kinds of dyes to have colors that are bright and colorfast. If dye and fiber don’t match, your colors will be lighter or may wash out easily. Commercial dyers and thread manufacturers know this and use dyes made for the fibers they are using. They also take pains to ensure the same color in different fibers will match. This makes our job as stitchers easier because we can find matching colors.

You can see what happens when you dye plant and animal fibers with the same dye when you look at Oriental Linen. This wonderful thread has one ply of linen and one of silk, dyed with the same dye. The tweeded effect of this thread is deliberate. But you can see in the picture above that one of the strands is lighter than the other, because the dye is taken up by this fiber as well.

If you are planning to dye your own threads, knowing this and picking the appropriate threads is important. If you are buying threads, it’s nice to know.