Anyone ever purposely sun bleach a kilt to fade or change the color of a tartan? I am curious what type of color changes can be achieved through natural bleaching.
There might be another way to make the tartan look weathered or older? Sun bleaching doesn't sound to me like it would work well. I've never seen it done before.
Plus, the sun doesn't shine enough in Scotland to bleach a kilt, I would guess.
Aut Viam Inveniam Aut Faciam
Proud Member of Clan Macpherson!
"Touch not the cat bot a glove"
The Following User Says 'Aye' to OKSooner For This Useful Post:
Period dyes do oxidize. Not so sure about modern dyes that are purposely designed to be colorfast. I remember a big tadoo over a bunch of confederate uniforms from a progressive/hardcore sutler that oxidized over a weekend. Pretty sure it was logwood dye that went black to purple between morning and evening colors ceremonies.
Last edited by Luke MacGillie; 16th April 17 at 06:25 PM.
Anyone ever purposely sun bleach a kilt to fade or change the color of a tartan? I am curious what type of color changes can be achieved through natural bleaching.
The left side has been exposed to sun and rain for over a year and the right side is how it was right off the bolt
The left side has been exposed to sun and rain for over a year and the right side is how it was right off the bolt
Wow! That was a year of exposure? Modern dyes are more resilient than I expected. I figured you'd get results like that after a week or less of exposure, not a year.
Wow! That was a year of exposure? Modern dyes are more resilient than I expected. I figured you'd get results like that after a week or less of exposure, not a year.
Not sure why you would assume that the change would happen so quickly. Normal clothing does not fade in a week so there is no reason modern tartan would either.
I have done some similar experimentation with both artificial and natural dyes. The former tend to fade uniformly to a paler version of the original colours whereas natural dyes fade or change differentially, i. e. some change more than others.
Originally Posted by Luke MacGillie
Period dyes do oxidize. Not so sure about modern dyes that are purposely designed to be colorfast. I remember a big tadoo over a bunch of confederate uniforms from a progressive/hardcore sutler that oxidized over a weekend. Pretty sure it was logwood dye that went black to purple morning and evening colors ceremonies.
Unlike Logwood, Indigo is light fast, especially in the darker shades. Scarlet from cochineal is pretty resilient too compared with yellows and greens. The latter is why in medieaval tapestries the trees and grass are invariably blue.
There might be another way to make the tartan look weathered or older? Sun bleaching doesn't sound to me like it would work well. I've never seen it done before.
Plus, the sun doesn't shine enough in Scotland to bleach a kilt, I would guess.
Well yes and no. Whilst it is true we in Scotland do not have the amounts of sun that other places in the world have, nor the heat, but when we do have the sun,it is actually very strong as we have very little air pollution. A fact often forgotten even by the locals to their considerable discomfort.
" Rules are for the guidance of wise men and the adherence of idle minds and minor tyrants". Field Marshal Lord Slim.
Originally Posted by Derekc5555
Bookmarks