Description
Lac is the dye insect used in Asia and Europe before cochineal from Mexico became available in the 1540’s. This lac dye is produced in India, where the dye is extracted from the lac insects (Kerria lacca).
The precious extract is very concentrated, giving saturated hues when using 5-15 % of the weight of fiber, so 5-15 g of extract per 100 g of textile.
Lac works well on animal fibers such as wool and silk.
Dissolve the extract in a bit of boiling water and simmer it for half an hour. Lac will dye unmordanted wool, but alum mordanting makes the hues clearer. Modification with iron gives purple.
