CHAPTER IV
THE LICHEN DYES
Some of the most useful dyes and the least known are to be found among the Lichens. They seem to have been used among peasant dyers from remote ages, but apparently none of the great French dyers used them, nor are they mentioned in any of the old books on dyeing. The only Lichen dyes that are known generally among dyers are Orchil and Cudbear, and these are preparations of lichens, not the lichens themselves. They are still used in some quantity and are prepared rather elaborately. But a great many of the ordinary lichens yield very good and permanent dyes. The Parmelia saxatilis and Parmelia omphalodes, are largely used in the Highlands and West Ireland, for dyeing brown of all shades. No mordant is needed, and the colours produced are the fastest known. "Crottle" is the general name for Lichens in Scotland. They are gathered off the rocks in July and August, dried in the sun, and used to dye wool, without any preparation. The crottle is put into the bath with a sufficient quantity of water, boiled up, allowed to cool, then boiled up with the wool until the shade required is got. This may take from one to three or four hours, as the dye is not rapidly taken up by the wool. Other dyers use it in the following way: A layer of crottle, a layer of wool, and so on until the bath is full; fill with cold water and bring to the boil, and boil till the colour is deep enough. The wool does not seem to be affected by keeping it in the dye a long time. A small quantity of acetic acid put with the Lichen is said to assist in exhausting the colour.
The grey Lichen, Ramalina scopulorum dyes a fine shade of yellow brown. It grows very plentifully on old stone walls, especially by the sea, and in damp woods, on trees, and on old rotten wood. Boil the Lichen up in sufficient water one day, and the next put in the wool, and boil up again till the right colour is got. If the wool is left in the dye for a day or more after boiling it absorbs more colour, and it does not hurt the wool but leaves it soft and silky to the touch, though apt to be uneven in colour. Some mordant the wool first with alum, but it does not seem to need it.
The best known of the dye Lichens are Parmelia saxatilis and Parmelia omphalodes which are still largely used in Scotland and Ireland for dyeing wool for tweeds. The well-known Harris tweed smell is partly due to the use of this dye.
Other Lichens also known for their dyeing properties are: Parmelia caperata, or Stone Crottle, which contains a yellow dye, P. ceratophylla, or Dark Crottle, and P. parietina, the common wall Lichen, which gives a colour similar to that of the Lichen itself, yellowish brown. A deep red colour can be got from the dull grey friable Lichen, common on old stone walls. The bright yellow Lichen, growing on rocks and walls, and old roofs, dyes a fine plum colour, if the wool is mordanted first with Bichromate of Potash.
In Sweden, Scotland and other countries the peasantry use a Lichen, called Lecanora tartarea to furnish a red or crimson dye. It is found abundantly on almost all rocks, and also grows on dry moors. It is collected in May and June, and steeped in stale urine for about three weeks, being kept at a moderate heat all the time. The substance having then a thick and strong texture, like bread, and being of a blueish black colour, is taken out and made into small cakes of about 3/4 lb. in weight, which are wrapped in dock leaves and hung up to dry in peat smoke. When dry it may be preserved fit for use for many years; when wanted for dyeing it is partially dissolved in warm water; 5 lbs. of Korkalett is considered sufficient for about 4 Scotch ells of cloth. The colour produced is a light red. It is used in the dyeing of yarn as well as of cloth.
In Shetland, the Parmelia saxatilis (Scrottyie) is used to dye brown. It is found in abundance on argillaceous rocks. It is considered best if gathered late in the year, and is generally collected in August.