Dyeing of wool fibers using saffron

Today, natural colorants are emerging globally due to the fact that are saferand environmentally-friendly. Natural dyes have been employed in dyeingPersian carpet piles for many years. Main color substance of saffron is acompound called crocine. Crocine is a rare and natural water-soluble carotenoide,which dissolves easily in water. Inthis study, saffron was used for dyeing wool yams.The Iranian wool yam was first scoured with nonionic detergent, mordanted usingsome metal salts including Fe, Sn, Cu, Cr and AI. It was then dyed with saffron.The colorimetric properties of the dyed yams were evaluated with reflectancespectrophotometer. The effect of the type and amount of mordants on the colorcoordinates were discussed. All the mordants improved the fastness properties ofsaffron on wool