Rotting for Red: Archival, Experimental and Analytical Research on Estonian Traditions of Decomposing Alder Buckthorn Bark Before Dyeing
This article sheds light on the historical dyeing traditions of rural inhabitants of the Eastern Baltic region. The 19th- and early 20th-century Estonian archival sources mention that rotted alder buckthorn (<i>Frangula alnus</i> Mill.) bark was used to dye woollen yarn red. The bark was...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Heritage |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2571-9408/8/6/220 |
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| Summary: | This article sheds light on the historical dyeing traditions of rural inhabitants of the Eastern Baltic region. The 19th- and early 20th-century Estonian archival sources mention that rotted alder buckthorn (<i>Frangula alnus</i> Mill.) bark was used to dye woollen yarn red. The bark was rotted by leaving it outside for weeks or months before dyeing. Although dyeing red with alder buckthorn bark by fermenting it in wood ash lye is well known, the combination of rotting the bark and using the boiling method to dye red has not been reported. Practical experiments testing shorter and longer-term rotting of alder buckthorn bark both on and under the ground were conducted. Woollen yarns were dyed with rotted bark using the boiling method and were tested for lightfastness and alkaline pH sensitivity, and analysed using HPLC-DAD. The results show that rotting alder buckthorn bark has a strong effect on the achievable colours and that woollen yarns can be dyed different shades of red. The colours were sensitive to alkaline pH and their light fastness varied from very low to good. HPLC-DAD analysis showed that the pretreatment of the bark affected not only the colour but also the dye composition of the dyed wool. |
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| ISSN: | 2571-9408 |