Assad Farooq^1,*, Shaukat Ali², Naheed Abbas³, Naila Zahoor³ and Muhammad Azeem Ashraf^1,*

¹Department of Fibre and Textile Technology, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan

²Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan

³Institute of Rural Home Economics, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan

*Corresponding author: Fax: +92 41 9201267; Tel: +92 3006628872; E-mail: assadfarooq@googlemail.com

The present work involves the optimization of extraction and dyeing recipes to standardize the procedure for natural dye obtained from the petals of marigold (Tagetes erecta). The resultant dye obtained at optimized extraction conditions was applied on cotton fabric to study the effect of temperature, time, material to liquid ratio (M:L), salt concentration and mordanting. Colorimetric data and colour fastnesses were studied for evaluation of optimum extraction and dyeing conditions. It was observed that extraction and dyeing parameters have significant effect on colour characteristics of dyed cotton fabric. The optimized extraction conditions were; M:L ratio 1:20, extraction time 90 min and temperature 100 ºC while optimized dyeing parameters were; M:L ratio 1:30, dyeing time 1 h and temperature 90 ºC and salt concentration 60 g/L of sodium sulphate. Better light and washing fastness were obtained in case of post mordanting with ferrous sulphate.

Natural dyes, Marigold, Cotton, Environment friendly dyeing, Mordant.