AN INVESTIGATION ON THE COLOURS OBTAINED FROM ROSELLE (Hibiscus sabdariffa L.) AND THEIR COLOUR FASTNESSES IN WOOLLEN CARPET YARNS Nuran KAYABAŞI 1 Süleyman KIZIL 2 and Özlem TONÇER 2 1) Ankara University, Faculty of Agriculture, College of Home Economy, Department of Village Hand Craft, Ankara-TURKEY 2) Dicle University, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Field Crops, Diyarbakır-TURKEY ABSTRACT In this study, dyeing methods with and without mordant were used for the dyeing of woollen yarn with roselle’s (Hibiscus sabdariffa L.) calyx and petals,. As mordants; alum of aluminium, alum of chrome, copper-sulphate, iron-sulphate, potassium-bichromate, potassium- hydroxide, sodium-chloride, sodium-hydroxide, sodium-sulphate, sodium-sulphite, tannin, tiny- chloride, and zinc-chloride were used. A total of 28 dyeing treatments were performed, and very different colours and their tons were obtained. As a result, a variety of colours and their tons can be obtained from roselle’s calyx and petals and the plant can pr ovide a wide colour catalogue, indicating that it could be used in vegetal dyeings. Keywords: Roselle, Hibiscus sabdariffa, karkade (calyx), petal, dyeing, colour fastness INTRODUCTION Roselle is Hibiscus sabdariffa L. belonging to Malvaceae family. It is annual and erects mostly branched stem to 3.5 m tall, various coloured, dark green to red; leaves alternate, glabrous, long petiolate, palmately divided into 3-7 lobes, with serrate margins; flowers large, short-peduncled, red to yellow with dark centre, capsules 5 cm long, 5.3 cm wide; root a deep penetrating taproot, flowering summer; suitable for tropical climates with well disturbed rainfall of 1500-2000 mm yearly, from sea level to about 600 m altitude; tolerate a warmer and more humid climate than kenaf, but more susceptible to damage from frost and fog (Duke, 1983). Roselle is native from India to Malaysia, where it is commonly cultivated, and is estimated to have been carried to Africa at an early date. It has been widely disturbed in the Tropics and Subtropics of both hemispheres, and in many areas of the Western India and Central America, it has became naturalised (Duke, 1983). It is a source of red beverage known as jamaica in Mexico. Calyx, called karkade in Switzerland, is a name not too different from the Arabic. Karkade is used in jams, jellies, sauces and wines. In the Western India and elsewhere in the Tropics, the fresh calyces are used freshly for making roselle wine, jelly, syrup, gelatine, refreshing beverages, pudding and cakes, while dried roselle is used for tea, jelly, marmalade, ices, ice-cream, sherbets, butter, pies, sauces, tarts and other desserts. Calyx are used in the Western India to colour and flavour rum. Tender leaves and stalks are eaten as salads and as a pot herb and are used for seasoning curries. Seeds have been used as an aphrodisiac coffee substitute, and its fruit is edible (Morton, 1987). Roselle is reported to be antiseptic, aphrodisiac, astringent, chalogogue, demulcent, digestive, diuretic, emollient, purgative, refrigerant, resolvent, sedative, stomachic and tonic; it is a folk remedy for abscesses, bilious conditions, cancer, cough, debility, dyspepsia, dysuria, fever, hangover, heart ailments, hypertension, neurosis, survey and strunguny (Duke, 1983). Dried karkade contains 13% of a mixture of citric and malic acid, two anthocyanins gossipetin (hydroxyflavone) and hibiscin, and 0.004-0.005% ascorbic acid. Flowers contain