Effect of sericin treatment conditions on dye abilty of cotton fabric

A study was conducted to observe the effect of sericin treatment on dye abilty of cotton fabric using natural dye. Different parameters for sericin treatment were optimized on the basis of maximum percent dye absorption and washing fastness. It was found that 0.5 % (w/v) sericin in the presence of 4% crosslinking agent and 1 % catalyst treated at 70ºC for 45 minutes followed by drying at 70ºC for 4 minutes and curing at 160ºC for 2 minutes increased affinity of selected natural dye i.e. manjistha towards cotton fabric. Dye uptake of sericin treated fabric increased from 19.5 % to 31.7 % after application of sericin using all the optimized variables