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History of Traditional Indigo Dyeing and common natural dye in Sierra Leone

PROCESS FOR INDIGO DYE PRODUCTION AND DYEING

Indigo is the most common natural dye in Sierra Leone, and several methods (seven identified in this study) are used for its production and subsequent use in fabric dyeing. In general, they involve production either from fresh leaves in the dyepot, leaf fermented into leaf balls but dye not extracted, indigo dye extracted into an insoluble lump, or use of the synthetic dye. In some cases up to four other plant spe cies are added to the dyebath, for example, Morinda germinata (wanda) roots, and Cola nitida fruits (cola), Man gifera indica, Rhizophora recemosa, Jatropha curcas (fignut), and Capsicum frutescens (pepper). Caustic soda, which creates an alkaline pH environment for the three-to-seven day fermentation to proceed; local alum or ash from Sterculia tragacantha (Kobe tree); and a black powder called colmet are also Rusty nails or metal cups, or Alchornia cordifolia (Christmas bush) are also sometimes added to darken the shade. Another method involves mixing the indigo dye with sodium hydroxide and sodium hydrosulfite in a ratio of 1:1:1 in water.

Dyeing is achieved by first washing the fabric with soap and water, then immersing the cloth (a white fabric called bryleon or cotton/polyester poplin) in the dye for different periods of time (varying from hours to three or four days) drying, dipping again, drying, and so on, until the desired shade is obtained. After this, the dyed fabric is washed, dried in the sun, and ironed either traditionally by pounding with a stick on a wooden slab to produce a glossy shine on the cloth, or by using modern forms of ironing.

PATTERN PRODUCTION

Apart from dyeing the whole material uniformly, various patterns can be produced by dyeing only parts of the fabric and leaving the remainder undyed. These methods are known as sewing, tie-dyeing, knotting, folding, and resist-dyeing or the use of batik.