Tag Archives: Peru

More about dyes in Peru

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I got to dyeing in a roundabout way. I am a lifelong quilter and I began dyeing my own fabrics to use in my quilts. From there, I expanded into dyeing: dyeing yards to use in weaving, batik dyeing and finally a curiosity about dyes themselves.

Except for Lima, which sits at sea level, Peru is a high country, sprawling across the Andes. Macchu Picchu, which is probably the most famous place in Peru, is above 8000 feet. But it is nothing compared to Cusco, which is about 11,000 feet. The land is arid and the ancient peoples including the Incans were brilliant at utilizing the scant water to irrigate their crops. Potatoes come from Peru and this country has several thousand varieties, although not all are edible.

Peru is a goldmine for anyone interested in dyeing. In previous blogs, I’ve talked about the cochineal beetle, which is native to Peru. Properly mordanted, the blood of these beetles creates a vivid red.Prickly Pear

 

Darker burgundy comes from another berry, green from the chilka leaf and shades of brown, black and white from the hair of the alpaca and the llama. ( The vicuna also provides wool of an extremely fine quality but this animal has never been domesticated. The Incans spent much time selectively breeding alpacas to obtain an extremely fine fleece but once their Empire ended that breeding program ended. In some of the museums in Peru examples of these old textiles can be viewed. )

Llama wool dyed with natural dyes

The weavers also use indigo for blue. Indigo is not native so it is more expensive.

 

 

 

 

 

Weaving on a backstrap loomIt is truly amazing to watch the weavers using the backstrap loom.

Dyes and Dyeing in Peru

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The cochineal beetle is a native of Peru. When one visits the Highlands, all the prickly pear cacti are covered with a grayish bloom. That gray, that looks like fungus, is actually colonies of these beetles.

Crushing a beetle results in a deep red color, the insect’s blood, and this blood when mordanted creates a beautiful and intense red. Think the Pope’s robes. Until the invention of the aniline dyes, this color was the standard for red. (Madder was also used but the color was not always as intense.) The Spanish kept a tight grip on this dye for several centuries.

But the Peruvian Highlands are home to many other wonderful natural dyes as well.

Although green was difficult to obtain in Europe and Early America, the Peruvians used the leaves of a plant called Chilka (Baccharis caespitosa (family: Asteraceae).

Kiko flowers result in yellow and nogal (or walnut) in dark brown or black.

One natural dye they did not grow themselves was indigo, for the bright blues. Indigo was available but it was expensive.

Other plants surrendered their roots, leaves, berries and fruits to make dyes. One lichen, called Qaqasunkha (family Usneaceae) comes with a caution. Although natural dyes tend to be less toxic (but not always) and better for the environment, gathering large amounts of lichen could actually be detrimental to the environment. So here is another example of the dangers of making a general statement about using only natural dyes.