Fading of Fabric

[Matthew Semple]

So I purchased some naturally dyed (logwood) fabric from Mr. Ben Tart back in 2005 to make a battleshirt. I folded it nicely and placed it in a drawer and there it has remained since without seeing sunlight expect for opening the drawer for a few seconds once or twice over the years.

When I recently removed the fabric from the drawer to finally get to the project I noticed that the top of the fabric which was up in the drawer had faded to a wonderful brown color due to oxidation and the remainder of the fabric remained the original color. So now I have a one foot by two foot section which is noticeably a different color which makes this portion of fabric unusable in the same battle shirt project. Fortunatly (as a rule I taught myself many many years ago and hundreds of projects since) I bought an extra few yards of fabric just in case of mistakes.

I am wondering if anyone has had a similar exerperience with just a topside portion of fabric oxidizing just sitting is a drawer without exposure to sunlight or the elements?

[Prodical Reb]

Re: Fading of Fabric

Depending on the dye used, just the exposure to air itself will cause this oxidation. Sunlight and heat just speed the process up.

[Spinster]

Re: Fading of Fabric

Logwood does indeed oxidize, even in the absence of light.

Here's the good news--it catches up and evens out.

Several years ago, I put on a striped blanket warp, woven about eight inches of pattern sample in a logwood purple weft, and walked away from the project. The logwood as dyed was a logwood purple. This left purple on the loom(with a cover over it to keep out cats and dust), logwood purple wound on the shuttle pirns(stacked up in the loom castle but still under cover) and logwood purple in wound balls in a sealed lightproof container, tightly packed, and with pennyroyal bags.

When I finally got around to weaving, the sample on the loom was turning brown, the pirns had gone to grey, and the balls were purple, all but the top layer of yarn, which had begun to gray.

I wove off the unintentionally striped warp anyway. Once fulled and placed in use, the color variation evened out within six months.

You've some choices here--make the shirt and allow it to even out over time and use. Or, find your area hand spinners or hand weavers guild--in that group you may find someone willing to renew the dye, and with a stash of logwood to do it with. Since logwood is dear these days, you may find this is a trade job---say a large amount of properly prepared sumac.