Dyeing of Cotton Fabric with a Natural Dye Extracted from Floral Part of Acalypha hispida Plant

Monkey tail (Acalypha hispida) is an ornamental plant rapidly growing in the most parts of the Sri Lanka. In the present study, a natural dye was extracted from flowers of the monkey tail plant under acidic conditions. The intention of the project is to minimize the cost of dyeing by utilizing natural waste material in an efficient manner. Five different mordants and three different mordanting techniques were used to set extracted dye on the tannic acid treated cotton fabrics. Pre-mordanting technique performs better compared to the simultaneous and post mordanting methods. Dyed cotton samples displayed good washing fastness, perspiration fastness and rubbing fastness properties. Color intensity values were measured in terms of color strength values and color coordinate values. Thus, the dye extracted from monkey tail flower can be used for coloration of cotton fabrics.