Dyeing process

The dyeing process consists of two methods: Direct colour locally called Matta Saayam and Fast colour locally called Ketti Saayam.

In direct colour, the yarns are dyed using cold water while in fast colour, the yarns are dyed in boiling water of 40ºC to 50ºC. Fast colour dyeing is a better process for dyeing since the colour doesn’t fade away easily even after years. While in direct colour, the colour slowly starts to fade away after three years, making the quality better in fast colour. Half the percentage of yarns are dyed for the Government and the other half for private societies. In the beginning, natural vegetable dyes were used, but later it was replaced with chemical dyes due to the high expense of the natural dyes.

In direct colour, a well made up of cement locally called Thaali is filled with water. It can hold up to 200 litres of water. Next to the well, there is a small plastic container with water mixed with the colour dye in concentrated form. In the cement well, the colour-dyed water is less concentrated with around 180 litres of water mixed with a small amount of colour dye. The colour dye powder is placed next to the well for easy access while dyeing. Next to the well, on the left side, there is an iron pole in a T shape locally called Kitti maram.