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Dyed Icelandic Wool Grazia Morgano 1 February AS XLVIII Abstract This project includes locks of Icelandic wool totalling 50g. The wool started out as a raw fleece, so it was cleaned before being mor- danted with alum. The wool was separated out and dyed using two dyes: indigo and madder. Some of the madder-dyed wool was overdyed with indigotin to alter the shade. Madder and indigotin are the most common dyes found in Danish Viking Age wool textiles, along with madder that has been overdyed with indigotin. The source of the in- digotin in Danish textiles is unknown (it could be woad or indigo), and indigo was used for this project due to availability. The two types of wool that seemed most appropriate for this project were Icelandic and Spælsau. Both are dual-coated breeds dating to the Viking Age. Icelandic has been an isolated breed since the Vikings took sheep with them to Iceland in the tenth century (Robson and Ekarius, 2011, p. 168). Spælsau is a breed particularly found in Denmark that dates back to the Viking Age and was used for making sails on Viking ships. It would be tempting to say Spælsau was not used because of recent inter-breeding with other breeds meant to “improve” the breed (make them larger to produce more meat) which means today’s sheep have lower quality wool (Robson and Ekarius, 2011, p. 325), but re- ally Spælsau wool is not available for purchase anywhere I could find. Halfway through this project, someone mentioned having spun Spæl- sau before. When asked where she acquired it, the answer was that her Danish friends brought it in their suitcase on their last visit. 1

Dyed Icelandic Wool

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Page 1: Dyed Icelandic Wool

Dyed Icelandic Wool

Grazia Morgano

1 February AS XLVIII

Abstract

This project includes locks of Icelandic wool totalling 50g. Thewool started out as a raw fleece, so it was cleaned before being mor-danted with alum. The wool was separated out and dyed using twodyes: indigo and madder. Some of the madder-dyed wool was overdyedwith indigotin to alter the shade. Madder and indigotin are the mostcommon dyes found in Danish Viking Age wool textiles, along withmadder that has been overdyed with indigotin. The source of the in-digotin in Danish textiles is unknown (it could be woad or indigo), andindigo was used for this project due to availability.

The two types of wool that seemed most appropriate for this projectwere Icelandic and Spælsau. Both are dual-coated breeds dating to theViking Age. Icelandic has been an isolated breed since the Vikings tooksheep with them to Iceland in the tenth century (Robson and Ekarius,2011, p. 168). Spælsau is a breed particularly found in Denmark thatdates back to the Viking Age and was used for making sails on Vikingships. It would be tempting to say Spælsau was not used because ofrecent inter-breeding with other breeds meant to “improve” the breed(make them larger to produce more meat) which means today’s sheephave lower quality wool (Robson and Ekarius, 2011, p. 325), but re-ally Spælsau wool is not available for purchase anywhere I could find.Halfway through this project, someone mentioned having spun Spæl-sau before. When asked where she acquired it, the answer was thather Danish friends brought it in their suitcase on their last visit.

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Contents

List of Figures 3

1 Background 5

2 Dyeing 72.1 Preparation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72.2 Madder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92.3 Indigo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92.4 Overdyeing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

3 Conclusions 14

A Wool Preparation 15A.1 Cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15A.2 Combing and Carding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Bibliography 17

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List of Figures

1.1 Frequency chart of dyestuffs across the Viking world (Ewing,2006, p.155)—Black represents indigotin, hatching is Yellow-X, dark grey is madder, and light grey is purple lichen. Barredareas represent overdyeing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

2.1 Preparing wool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8a The first soak in soapy water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8b Wool, looking much cleaner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8c Drying wool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

2.2 Soaking the wool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82.3 Dyeing with madder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

a Wool soaking in madder dyebath . . . . . . . . . . . . 9b Madder-dyed wool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

2.4 Dyeing with indigo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10a A layer of shiny scum floats on top of the dyebath,

which is a yellow-green tone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10b The wool in the dyebath highlights how green the liquid is 10

2.5 Rapid oxidization of indigo-dyed wool. Note the bottom-mostpart of the wool is still green . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

2.6 Overdyeing madder with indigo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12a Adding the madder-dyed wool to the indigo dyebath . 12b The overdyed wool emerges a darker shade of red . . . 12

2.7 Drying dyed wool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122.8 From left to right: madder, indigo single dip, indigo double

dip, madder with single indigo dip, madder with double indigodip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

A.1 Period depictions of textile production . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

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a Weaving, spinning, and combing flax. MS Fr. 598, f.70v, Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris; 15th c. France . . . 16

b Weaving, spinning, carding wool, and hackling flax.MS Royal 16 Gv, f. 56, British Library, London; 15thc. France . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

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1. Background

Scandinavian dyers used aluminum from clubmoss for mordanting (Ewing,2006, p. 156). Today, a commonly available aluminum salt used by dyers isalum.

According to Roscoe’s thesis on the use of color in Icelandic sagas, blueand red are the most commonly referenced colors of dyed clothing (Roscoe,1992, p. 25). Additionally, Penelope Walton’s 1989 chart of the results ofdyestuff analysis (reproduced in Ewing’s “Viking Clothing”, see Figure 1.1)shows indigotin as the most common dyestuff found in Denmark’s archaeolog-ical finds. Indigotin can come from either woad or indigo plants, and tellingwhich is the origin plant is impossible. The red dye shown in Walton’s chartas being common in Denmark is madder (Ewing, 2006, p. 155). This is incontrast to Roscoe’s assertion regarding kermes being much more commonthan madder in the Viking period and regions (Roscoe, 1992, p. 20). Thiscould be due to Denmark’s location on the European continent. Accordingto Walton’s chart, there is also a yellow dye known as “Yellow-X,” an uniden-tified dyestuff, and purple lichen found on Danish textiles. Another purpleis also represented: madder overdyed with indigotin (Ewing, 2006, p. 155).

Working with indigo is different from working with other dyes. It needsto be “reduced” (deoxygenated). This has traditionally been done via fer-mentation, often using urea from urine. Urine from drunks and diabeticswas preferable, due to the higher urea content, at least in days before dia-betes was a treatable condition. The fermented or reduced indigo is knownas “indigo white” (Liles, 1990, p. 79–81).

There are many types of lichen, producing a wide range of colors depend-ing on the particular variety of colors. I could not find lichen commerciallyavailable for dyeing. It must be gathered from fallen branches, and it needsto steep for 2–3 months before being used for dyeing (Allen, 2013).

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Figure 1.1: Frequency chart of dyestuffs across the Viking world (Ewing, 2006,p.155)—Black represents indigotin, hatching is Yellow-X, dark grey is madder, andlight grey is purple lichen. Barred areas represent overdyeing.

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2. Dyeing

2.1 Preparation

This yarn was produced from raw fleece purchased online, meaning the woolwas dirty and full of vegetable matter (see Figure 2.1a). The first step was towash the wool. This was done in a bath tub with Dawn detergent. The woolwas soaked in soapy water three times, and then it was rinsed. The wool wasthen laid out to dry for a couple days. For information on how wool wouldhave been cleaned in period, see A.1.

First, 12g of madder was soaked in hot water overnight. Likewise, 0.5ozof indigo (by weight) was soaked overnight in hot water.

The wool was first soaked in cold water for an hour to ensure the mor-danting process would occur evenly. The wool was mordanted1 using alum,an aluminum salt. This approximates the results of using clubmoss, a plantwhich accumulates aluminum and was used in Scandinavia (Ewing, 2006,p. 156). The wool was soaked for one hour in a gallon of hot water contain-ing 12g of alum.

1a chemical reaction that makes the fiber take up the dye better and makes the dyemore permanent, usually using metallic salts

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(a) The first soak in soapywater

(b) Wool, looking muchcleaner

(c) Drying wool

Figure 2.1: Preparing wool

Figure 2.2: Soaking the wool

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2.2 Madder

The wool was roughly divided into thirds. Two thirds of the wool was soakedfor one hour in a gallon of hot water with the 12g of soaked madder added,for a total of 1gal 2c water (see Figure 2.3a). The wool was then rinsed incold water and set aside.

(a) Wool soaking in madderdyebath

(b) Madder-dyed wool

Figure 2.3: Dyeing with madder

2.3 Indigo

I followed Dharma Trading’s instructions for making a dyebath that can dyeup to 1lb of fiber. I decided I would store the dyebath for later use, havingbeen previously taught by Mistress Brienna Lindsay how to recharge an oldindigo dyebath.

Dharma’s instructions for an indigo dyebath call for 2–3gal water, 0.5ozindigo, 0.5oz “dye remover” (with a note to start with 0.25oz and add more ifnecessary) and 0.5oz soda ash (also called “laundry soda” or “washing soda”).Soda ash naturally occurs as wood ash, which pushes the pH of a solution inthe basic direction (Liles, 1990, p. 55). The call for dye remover is really forThiourea dioxide (Trading, 2013). Thiourea dioxide naturally comes fromthe urea in urine, present in large amounts in those who have gout. Theoldest recorded indigo dyeing includes stale urine for this purpose (Liles,1990). The reason for the Thiourea dioxide is to “reduce” the solution. Thatis, it removes the oxygen from solution (Trading, 2013). This is a syntheticversion of the urea which would naturally occur in the historically-used urine.

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The soda ash, indigo, and 2gal of hot water were mixed together in a 5galbucket. This was allowed to steep for 15–20 minutes. Knowing the package ofSpectralite-brand Thiourea dioxide contains 2oz and that I needed to startwith about 0.25oz, or just enough for the solution to reduce, I sprinkleda little bit on and mixed it in gently. The visible effects of the expectedchemical reaction is for the liquid to turn yellow-green and develop a scumon top, as shown in Figure 2.4a. This is known as “indigo white” (Liles, 1990,p. 55). The wool initially turns green with submersion (see Figure 2.4b).

(a) A layer of shinyscum floats on top ofthe dyebath, which is ayellow-green tone

(b) The wool in thedyebath highlights howgreen the liquid is

Figure 2.4: Dyeing with indigo

When the wool is pulled out of the dyebath, oxidization occurs. Becauseoxidization is the mechanism of coloring the fiber, indigo does not behavelike an ordinary dye in that concentration and time result in a permanentlydarker color. Rather, multiple dye baths with time for oxidization in betweenis what is needed for a darker result (Trading, 2013). The oxidization processis visible as the wool changes from green to blue before the observer’s eyes.The change is rapid, with the wool at the top of the pile turning blue by thetime the bottom-most wool emerges from the water, still green (see Figure2.5). Some of the wool was placed back into the dyebath for a few minutesto try for a darker color.

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Figure 2.5: Rapid oxidization of indigo-dyed wool. Note the bottom-most partof the wool is still green

2.4 Overdyeing

Next, some of the madder-dyed wool was dipped into the indigo dyebath (seeFigure 2.6a). When the wool emerged, it was a much darker shade of red,debatably a purple or dark rust shade (see Figure 2.6b). This wool was thendivided and some was placed back into the indigo dyebath to see if a second,darker shade was available.

The wool bundles were all rinsed in cold water and allowed to hang todry.

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(a) Adding the madder-dyedwool to the indigo dyebath

(b) The overdyed woolemerges a darker shade ofred

Figure 2.6: Overdyeing madder with indigo

Figure 2.7: Drying dyed wool

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Figure 2.8: From left to right: madder, indigo single dip, indigo double dip,madder with single indigo dip, madder with double indigo dip

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3. Conclusions

This was my first time dyeing wool and my first hands-on experience withindigo. I have dyed silk using madder before, so I knew it would make awarm red tone. This result seems to be a bit more orange than on the silk.

I expected the overdyed wool to be a hue closer to what is commonlyreferred to as purple today. This was in part because I have seen the resultsof overdyeing cochineal red with indigotin before. Instead, the warm red ofmadder made a deep rust hue.

I was unsatisfied with the results of doing a second dip in the indigo bath.In future, when attempting to achieve a darker result with indigo, I will allowmore time between dips into the dyebath for the oxidation to complete, andpossibly conduct a rinse in between dips, to ensure the blue is deposited inmultiple layers.

Scraps of this wool will be kept with notes about the dyeing in a binderwith my previous experiments dyeing silk.

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A. Wool Preparation

A.1 Cleaning

Wool, fresh off the sheep, is full of “yolk,” a combination of grease (lanolin)and suint (sweat). There also tends to be bits of grass and other plantmatter stuck in the fleece. It is possible to spin in the grease, but if there istoo much yolk, the wool can clump up (Baines, c. 1977, p. 28). Ammonia hasbeen a common cleaner for millenia, so it is no surprise that 18th centuryinstructions for scouring a fleece call for urine as a source of ammonia incleaning the wool (Baines, c. 1977, p. 30).

A.2 Combing and Carding

Oil would be added back to the wool once it was cleaned to make combingand spinning easier (Baines, c. 1977, p. 30). According to Robin Russo theoiling is to make the resulting combed top smoother and keep static fromforming during the combing process (Russo, 2012). Butter, olive oil, andanimal fat are all period lubricants for wool combing (Crowfoot et al., 2006,p. 15–16).

Both combing and carding fibers were done in the Renaissance. Combinginvolves moving two combs with a row or several of long teeth against eachother in perpendicular directions to transfer the fiber from one comb to theother. This can be seen in Figure A.1a on page 16. Combing would separatethe longer fibers from the short ones, leaving little “tufts of fuzz.” The longcombed fibers were pulled from the combs into a long “rope” of fiber calleda sliver through a ring called a diz (Baines, c. 1977, p. 34). The long fiberscould be spun as is, while the short ones would then be carded to preparethem for spinning. Carding involves scraping the short fibres with wire tools

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(Hale, 1965, p. 79). Carding can be seen in Figure A.1b on page 16.

(a) Weaving, spinning, and combing flax. MSFr. 598, f. 70v, Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris;15th c. France

(b) Weaving, spinning, cardingwool, and hackling flax. MS Royal16 Gv, f. 56, British Library, Lon-don; 15th c. France

Figure A.1: Period depictions of textile production

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Bibliography

Alissa Allen. Lichen dyes. http://mycopigments.com/lichen-dyes/, 2013.

Patricia Baines. Spinning Wheels: Spinners and Spinning. Robin and RussHandweavers, c. 1977.

E. Crowfoot, F. Pritchard, and K. Staniland. Textiles and Clothing,C.1150-c.1450. Medieval finds from excavations in London. Boydell,2006. ISBN 9781843832393. URL http://books.google.com/books?id=CY-8T59wHHUC.

Thor Ewing. Viking clothing. Tempus, 2006. ISBN 07524358769780752435879.

John Rigby Hale. Renaissance. Time, Inc., 1965.

J.N. Liles. The Art and Craft of Natural Dyeing: Traditional Recipes forModern Use. University of Tennessee Press, 1990. ISBN 9780870496707.URL http://books.google.com/books?id=VUW-l1Wg1wYC.

Deborah Robson and Carol Ekarius. The Fleece and Fiber Sourcebook. Storey,2011.

Jane Christine Roscoe. The literary significance of clothing in the icelandicfamily sagas. Master’s thesis, University of Durham, 1992.

Robin Russo. Combing fiber. DVD, 2012.

Dharma Trading. How to use natural dyes. http://www.dharmatrading.com/dyes/natural-dyes-from-plants-and-insects.html, 2013.

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