Lantana flowers - An ecofriendly natural dye for silk.

This article describes the use of Lantana flowers in the dyeing of silk. Acidic, alkaline and aqueous medium were used for extraction of dye. Acidic medium was selected as it gave good shades on silk. The absorption of silk increased with the increase in concentration of dye. After that, the absorption decreases with the increase in the concentration of dye. The maximum absorption was obtained on the silk sample when Lantana dye solution was extracted for 90 minutes followed by 120, 150, 60 and 30 minutes respectively. The absorption of silk increased with the increase in the dyeing time from 30-75 minutes. Maximum absorption was found when dyeing was continued for 75 minutes. After, it decreases with the increase in the dyeing time to 90 minutes. In order to select the best method of mordanting, silk samples were mordanted by three methods. The method of mordanting was selected for different mordants on the basis of visual evaluation. It is evident that post mordanting method showed highest marks for all the natural and metallic mordants thus selected as best for dyeing of silk with Lantana flowers dye. Lantana flowers produced colours that are gentle, soft, and subtle. Since the processing involve no toxic chemicals, it will give good opportunity to use this dye in the industry.