Re: Questionnaire for Textile conservators

Dear Tamara & Daphne,

Here are my answers to your questionnaire and some additional information. I hope this helps and I haven't added a lot of information you already know.

Teresa

Teresa A. Knutson, Conservator
Rocky Mountain Textile Conservation
635 6th Street W #4
Kalispell, MT 59901
406-756-1388
tknutson@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Questionnaire

Name Textile conservator: Teresa Knutson

Institution: Rocky Mountain Textile Conservation

Education: apprenticeship training at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, the Textile Conservation Workshop, the Biltmore Estate, a Mellon Fellowship at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. I was the dyer at the Textile Conservation Workshop and the Biltmore Estate.

Before I begin answering your questions, I haven’t dyed for treatment for many years. It isn’t cost effective. I find you cannot charge clients for the time it takes both to find the right color and then to dye it which could possible take as long as the treatment time. Lately, I have been able to find color matches with commercially available fabrics.

I think most of this information should still be pertinent. As far as I know, there aren’t any new dyes on the market.

1. Which colouring media have you used for the localized colouration of support fabrics?

I have used the Pebeo-Setacolor painted on silk and heat set, but found it was difficult to achieve the color I needed.

I have used Dispersol dyes in a thermofixation technique on paper which was then ironed onto Polyester.

Recently, I tried to use Inkjet transfer paper to duplicate a loss in a coverlet by scanning part of the coverlet and heat transferring the scan to cotton fabric for a patch. It was very stiff and I found the patch looked better without the pattern because there were a lot of loose threads covering the scan.

2. Which colouring media have you used for colouration of the entire fabric?

I have used Lanacron Erionyl for silk and nylon net

I have used Lanaset for silk and for wool yarns

I have used Procion H and MX for cotton fabric and yarns

3. Why did you choose this particular colouring medium?

The Pebeo-Setacolor was chosen because it seemed to react best to the testing done by Kaldany, Sigurdardottir, and Berman published in the AIC Textile Specialty Group Postprints 1997 pages 63-78 titled Compensation for Loss in Textiles Using Commercially Available and Easy to Use Artist’s Coloring Materials.

The Dispersol dyes were chosen because they were the only dyes available to

The Lanacron Erionyl was used because it was the dye available at the place where I was working, but it was hard to level and the fastness wasn’t good on silk. The other dyes were used because they were lightfast, exhausted and leveled well, and were easier to use.

4. Which application methods did you use?

The Pebeo-Setacolor was hand painted, the Dispersol was used in a thermofixation technique on paper which was then ironed onto Polyester; the others were used in water baths following the recommended procedure for the particular dye.

5. Can you use the same colouring media for different types of fabric such as linen, silk or silk crepeline?

Different dyes have been developed for different fibers. The fibers do not all accept dyes in the same manner.

6. What are your experiences with the colouring media called Lanaset (Ciba-Geigy)?

I like using Lanaset for silk and wool

7. Have you ever used Irgalans as a colouring media?

8. What acids do you use (if necessary) to assist dying?

Acetic acid is used for Lanaset dyes

9. What is there to say about the light fastness of colouring media such as lanaset or Irgalan?

To find the fastness ratings of any dye, you need to check the Colour Index, which is published by the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colourists (AATCC). This will give you the fastness ratings of types of dyes and of specific colors which can be used to choose the dyes. Of course, a dye will not be as fast if the proper dyeing procedure is not followed. Some of the dye handbooks will also give information about the particular dye colors which are the best to use.

10. What can be told about the washfastness of the colouring media’s such as Lanaset or Irgalan?

11. Do you have any suggestions or remarks which may be of importance to this subject?

I am attaching a listing of the types of dyes and what they will dye in reference to question 5. I am also attaching a list of dyes and dyeing books for you. From your questions, it seems you do not understand that one has to choose a dye and follow the correct procedures to achieve wash and light fastness. You also have to research the types of dyes for those which are easier to use in non-laboratory facilities and which are more environmentally friendly and less toxic to the user, so that you also choose a dye which uses less toxic assistants. I am assuming you know the most cost efficient way of achieving colors is to mix primary colors, so there is less waste of dyes and a better likelihood of being able to replicate the color.

There have been several research studies published in the Textile Specialty Group Postprints on textile paints (like the one mentioned above) and on using digital printing or transfers and that seems to be the way to go in the future, especially if one needs to duplicate a patterned fabric.

DYE CLASSES

DYE CLASS	DATE OF INTRODUCTION	ORIGIN OF NAME/DERIVATION	FIBERS	USAGE
Natural	Bronze Age	Dyestuffs of vegetable and animal matter used with mordants to achieve color on fibers	Wool Silk Cotton	Immersion dyeing and printing until 19th century; some limited use now
Basic/Aniline	1856 by Perkin England	Salts of organic bases; aniline synthesized from coal tar	Acrylics Leather Wool Silk Cotton	Immersion dyeing;limited used now except for paper and leather
Acid	1862	Salts of organic acids and an acid dyebath	Wool Nylon Silk	Immersion dyeing for industry and textile artists
Chrome/Acid Mordant	1868-1877	synthesized alizarin used with a mordant; current mordant in use is chrome	Wool Cotton	Immersion dyeing and printing
Direct	1883 Geigy	Dyes directly without use of a mordant	Cotton Linen Rayon	Immersion dyeing for cheaper goods
Azoic/Napthol	1889-1890	Two bonded atoms of nitrogen plus a diazo reaction to directly produce the color	Cotton	Javanese batik and African printing
Metal-Complex	Early 20th century	An acid dye molecule with a metal ion	Wool Cotton	Immersion dyeing and printing
Vat	1901 Germany	Like indigo, dye accepted into the fiber in a reduced or vatted form and then re-oxidized to produce and fix the color	Cotton Linen Rayon Silk	Immersion dyeing for industry and textile artists
Union		A combination of acid, direct, and basic dyes	Cellulosics Proteins Some Synthetics	Household immersion dyeing
Disperse	1930’s Great Britain	Dye particles are dispersed in the bath and then dissolved into the fiber under high heat	Polyester Acrylic Nylon Acetate	Immersion dyeing, heat transfer, and Thermosul process for printing; used by industry and artists
Fiber-Reactive	1956 ICI	Dye reacts with the fiber to form covalent bonds	Cotton Linen Rayon Silk Wool	Immersion dyeing, pad-batching, and printing for industry and textile artists

BIBLIOGRAPHY OF BOOKS ON DYES AND DYEING

A. Ballard, Mary and Teresa Knutson. “Dyeing Polyester: Disperse Dyes for Textile Conservation Work” in 20^th Century Material, Testing and Textile Conservation. Postprints of the Harpers Ferry Regional Textile Group, 1968.

B. Bogle, Michael. Textile Dyes, Finishes, and Auxiliaries. New York: Garland, 1977.

C. Brunello, France. The Art of Dyeing in the History of Mankind. Vicenza, Italy:

Neri Pozza Editore, 1973.

D. Colour Index. 3^rd edition. Bradford, England: Society of Dyers and Colourists. 1971. (there may be a newer edition of this publication)

E. Garber, M.I. “Dyeing Polyester Fibers with Disperse Dyes” in Basics of Dyeing and Finishing Synthetic Fibers. Research Triangle Park: American Association fo Textile Chemists and Colorists, 1985

F. Giles, C.H. A Laboratory Course in Dyeing, 3^rd edition. Bradford, England: The Society of Dyers and Colorists, 1974.

G. Knutson, Linda. Synthetic Dyes for Natural Fibers, revised edition. Loveland, Colorado: Interweave Press Inc., 1981.

H. McLaren, K. The Colour Science of Dyes and Pigments. Great Britain: Adam Hilger Ltd., 1983.

I. Rivlin, J. Introduction to the Dyeing of Textile Fibers. Philadelphia: Philadelphia College of Textiles and Sciences, 1982.

J. Storey, Joyce. The Thames and Hudson Manual of Dyes and Fabrics. London: Thames and Hudson, Ltd., 1978.

K. Trotman, E.R. Dyeing and Chemical Technology of Textile Fibers. London: Griffen and Co., Ltd., 1975.