ASDC Dyeing of Natural Fibres
Part of the suite of courses which make up the ASDC professional qualification.
Start date October 2022
Exam Date May 2023
Below are a full list of lessons and topics that are covered in this course.
Each lesson and subsequent topics are available from the dates shown to allow you time to complete the lessons.
Take the first lesson, either by clicking on the link below or the list to the right to learn more about how the system works, what help in learning is available and how best to manage your time.
A useful booklet on How to navigate colour network can be downloaded.
Recommended texts for this course are the following and all can be purchased through the link given.
The Coloration of Wool and other Keratin Fibres – Ed. David M Lewis and John A Rippon, publisher SDC
Physio-chemical aspects of Textile Coloration – Ed. Stephen M Burkinshaw, publisher SDC
Cellulosics Dyeing – Ed. John Shore, publisher SDC
Anyone starting the course should have access to the following books which provide both an introduction to the courses and provide depth to the topics taught in single volumes.
An Introduction to Textile Coloration: Principles and Practice – Ed. Roger H. Wardman, publisher SDC
Basic Principles of Textile Coloration – Ed. Arthur D Broadbent, publisher SDC
This course will provide you with knowledge of fibre structure, its interaction with water and the importance of this in the coloration process. It will then cover the main coloration processes and dye classes for two significant natural fibres.
This course will cover the protein fibre wool and the cellulosic fibre cotton as these are the two most important fibres within these classifications. It is important for you to understand the different fibres within these classification and use the techniques learnt here to understand the differences in the required dyeing of these fibres.
Two publications are available to you to help with terms and definitions
- The SDC publication “Colour terms and definitions”
- A short version of definitions that also exist within the scripts for the course but provided here in a handy format.
To fully appreciate the coloration of all textile fibres there is a need to understand the physical, chemical, thermal and optical properties of fibres in general. The following 4 documents provide this background information that you should refer to during your study. These documents will also be useful when you study dyeing of synthetic fibres.
- General Physical and Mechanical properties of Fibres
- Mechanical properties of Fibres
- Thermal properties of Fibres
- Optical properties of Fibres
This course covers the dyeing of Wool and Cellulosics. We estimate that the split in the time required for each fibre type is Wool 35% : Cellulosics 65%.
Extracts from some of the recommended texts as well as articles from Coloration Technology are made available to students in the lessons.
In the following lectures, commercial names of dyes, fibres, auxiliaries etc are provided; this does not imply superiority of commercial products but is intended to serve only as a guide. Similarly while aspects relating to application procedures is presented, these are intended as being representative of typical application conditions only and are not intended to be employed for practical dyeing.