Abstract:
Monkey tail (Acalypha hispida) is an ornamental
plant rapidly growing in the most parts of the Sri Lanka. In the
present study, a natural dye was extracted from flowers of the
monkey tail plant under acidic conditions. The intention of the
project is to minimize the cost of dyeing by utilizing natural waste
material in an efficient manner. Five different mordants and three
different mordanting techniques were used to set extracted dye on
the tannic acid treated cotton fabrics. Pre-mordanting technique
performs better compared to the simultaneous and post
mordanting methods. Dyed cotton samples displayed good
washing fastness, perspiration fastness and rubbing fastness
properties. Color intensity values were measured in terms of color
strength values and color coordinate values. Thus, the dye
extracted from monkey tail flower can be used for coloration of
cotton fabrics.
