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The art of natural dyeing, that has been experimented from old times, has been kept alive
and it perfectly harmonizes to the world environmental concerns of our day.
Natural dyes can be divided into two different kinds: cold bath dye and hot bath dye. Temperature is very important for coloring,
some colors are completely distorted when added to hot water.
In dyeing cotton and silk the Isaan people traditionally used natural dyes derived from roots, berries, and soil. A reddish
color is derived from the lac insect, blue from the indigo plant, black from the Krajai berry, yellow from the Talang root,
and green from dipping cloth already dyed in an indigo solution into a Talang solution. Dyeing with Lac
The lac insect, its droppings and nest are collectively called ''Kee Krang'' and is a popular source of
dye as the insect colonies can be found in great abundance in the Northeast. Kee Krang is dried in the sun and ground in
a mortar with the resulting powder being soaked in a tamarind paste and water solution in an earthen pot for a day and then
put on the fire to boil. The cotton or silk yarn which has previously been bathed is then immersed into the boiling reddish
colored water for 30 minutes before being rinsed and hung to dry.
Dyeing with Indigo Indigo plants
are approximately a meter high with leaves like the Tamarind and are usually cultivated in the paddies or in orchards as the
wild indigo will produce inferior coloring. Three months after planting, the Indigo plants are considered to be at the height
of maturity and are cut down, bundled and stuffed in a water filled earthen jar for three days before being thrown away.
During the waiting period the villagers would gather snails to burn with the bark of the Pluang tree after which certain shells
would be selected and wrapped in banana leaves, or put into earthen jars to calcify into lime. When deemed ready, the lime
is mixed with the indigo water (one jar of indigo water to two hundred grams of lime) and after the sediments have settled
the water is carefully poured out into another receptacle to be mixed with ashes of the Cassia siamea. Once again the sediments
are allowed to settle and the solution is drained into an earthen pot and put on the fire. Three pulverized sugar cane chunks,
three pulverized Carambola fruits and the indigo residue are stirred into the solution until well mixed and the cotton or
silk yarn which has been bathed are dipped until the desired color is achieved after which the dyed yarn is then rinsed and
hung to dry. 
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