Dyeing Characteristics and Colorfastness of Cotton and Flax Fabrics Dyed with Natural Indigo Using Glucose Reduction

This study was conducted to make help an environment-friendly dyeing method for natural indigo. In this study, glucose was used as a reducing agent for indigo. Four kind of fabrics composed of cotton fiber and flax fiber were used for this study. Dyeing with natural indigo was done under four different dyeing conditions having different pH levels and dyeing temperatures. Dyeing characteristics (color characteristics and color strength) and colorfastness were also measured. The dyeing differences in characteristics and colorfastness were analyzed based on the fiber type and dyeing condition. There were significant differences in color characteristics and color strength (K/S value) of fabrics dyed with natural indigo using glucose reduction based on the fiber type and dyeing condition. The K/S value of the fabric dyed with natural indigo through glucose reduction was the highest at 660nm. The colorfastness of the four fabrics dyed using natural indigo had a rate of 4 to 5 with the exception of rubbing fastness, which indicated good colorfastness.