Mordanting Methods for Dyeing Cotton Fabrics with Dye from Albizia Coriaria Plant Species

The study investigated the effects of different methods of application of selected mordants on dyeing woven cotton with dyes from the stem bark of Albizia coriaria. The methods of application of mordants used includes; pre-mordanting, simultaneous mordanting and post-mordanting. The effects on cotton analyzed are color fastness to; light, washing, wet and dry rubbing and color characteristics on CIELab color coordinates. Aqueous extraction method was used to extract the dye. Some selected mordants were used for dyeing viz; alum, ferrous sulphate, and iron water. In the control dyeing without the use of mordants, very good fastness were registered with the following fastness ratings; for washing (4-5), dry rubbing (5), wet rubbing (5) and light (4). The natural dye is a substantive dye since it registered very good fastness grades without the use of mordants. The use of mordants improved color fastness to light from ratings of (4) to (5) and (6) for iron water and ferrous sulphate and a poor fastness of (3) was recorded for alum. Post-mordanting method registered the best overall fastness results and the best color strengths K/S values and color saturation values C. However, the most brilliant colors were registered with simultaneous mordanting method with all mordants. However, there was no observable effect of mordanting methods on the redness or yellowness of color.