"As a spinner finishes drawing a spool of thread...he passes it on to the dyers, who tint and dye it. The Weavercrafthall is famous for certain special dyes whose compositions are considered a deep, dark craft secret." (DLG, p135)
The areas and their colours:
| Balan Hold | azure and deep green |
| Balen Hold | pine-green and peridot-green |
| Benden Hold | violet and red |
| Benden Weyr | red and black |
| Big Bay (Igen Sea) Hold | beet-red and golden yellow |
| Bitra Hold | dusty red and white |
| Cove Hold | light green and rich (harper) blue |
| Crom Hold | yellow-gold and light blue |
| Farmers | white and golden yellow |
| Fort Hold | brown and yellow |
| Fort Weyr | brown and black |
| Greenfields | aqua and medium blue |
| Greystones | violet or purple and medium blue |
| Half Circle Sea Hold | white and medium blue |
| Harpers | white and rich blue - this blue is so distinctive that it is referred to planetwide as 'harper blue'. |
| Healers | white and purple |
| Herders | white and yellow |
| High Reaches Hold | dark blue and tan |
| High Reaches Weyr | dark blue and black |
| Igen Hold | golden yellow and bright red |
| Igen Weyr | golden yellow and black |
| Ista Gar Hold | turquoise and cream |
| Ista Hold | bright orange and white |
| Ista Weyr | bright orange and black |
| Katz Field | beet-red and light green |
| Keroon Hold | golden yellow, white and peridot-green |
| Lemos Hold | medium blue and white |
| Miners | white and black |
| Nabol Hold | brown and white |
| Nerat Hold | bright orange and golden yellow |
| Red Sands Hold | sunset red and dark blue |
| Ruatha Hold | bright red and dark brown |
| Seacrafters | white and sea-blue |
| Smiths | white and bright red |
| South Telgar Hold | bright red and medium blue |
| Southern Boll Hold | bright red and white |
| Southern Hold | light green and emerald green |
| Southern Weyr | light green, emerald green and black |
| Starcrafters | white and bright red |
| Tanners | white and sienna-brown |
| Telgar Hold | bright red, white and medium blue |
| Telgar Weyr | black and white |
| Tillek Hold | dark blue and white |
| Traders | white and steel-grey |
| Valley Hold | green and golden yellow |
| Vintners | white and dark red |
| Weavers | white and lavender |
| Woodcrafters | white and forest-green |
On Pern, wearing green is traditionally seen as inviting bad luck. This is no doubt symbolic of the Pernese antipathy to having verdure growing around human settlements, attracting the deadly rain of Thread. For the less superstitious, this is seen as a ridiculous tradition, particularly in light of the fact that green dye is easily obtainable.
Red is the traditional colour of brides on their wedding day, particularly for holderwomen of considerable rank. The traditional dress contains graduated shades of red, as indicated in McCaffrey's novel Dragonquest (p180).
White is the colour which a bride's attendants will wear, as indicated in McCaffrey's novel Dragonquest (p180). It is also the colour of the robes which Candidates wear out onto the sands during a Hatching. White is rarely worn by the majority of the Pernese population since it is so difficult to get clean.
Blue seems to be the traditional colour for a bridegroom to wear on his wedding day, specifically, midnight blue, as described in McCaffrey's Dragonquest (p180). Harper blue is also a very popular colour, as harpering is such a prestigious craft.
Red dye is obtained from a variety of different plants: lichen, the roots of bloodroot, Lady's Bedstraw, madder, the red flowers of the dahlia and the geranium, the bark of the hemlock tree, the berries of pokeweed, and the fruity protuberances of prickly-pear cactus. Madder is particularly effective.
Blue dyes can be produced from most parts of the indigo plant, the berries of mahonia, the leaves of woad and meadowsweet flowers in the Tillekian valleys.
Green dyes can be produced from a variety of sources, most notably the fellis plant, which produces a deep hue of the colour. Green can also come from the young tops of bracken, the above-ground green part of horsetail, the tops of goldenrod flowers, the berries of ivy when they have turned black, the leaves of privet and Lily of the Valley, and the leaves and tops of nettle and weld.
Yellow dyes come from the twigs of barberry, the bark of black oak, the tips and flowers of brrom, the tops and flowers of tansy, ragwort, St. Johnswort and goldenrod, the outer skins of onions, the tops of Queen of the Meadow, the berries of snowberry, and the leaves and tops (before seeding) of weld. Onion dyes take very fast. Bright gold can be obtained from lichen.
Brown comes from the bark of Big Bud Hickory, the hulls of black walnut, the heartwood and pods of cutch, grey lichen, the needles of larch, woodchips or sawdust of mahogany, the leaves of mountain laurel, the bark of oak and the twigs of pyracanthe. Walnut is particularly effective.
Orange dyes can be gotten from the coreopsis flowers, orange dahlias, certain shellfish from tropical waters, the roots of Lady's Bedstraw and madder, and the outer skins of onions.
Roses, pinks and purples come from blueberries, black currants, black huckleberries, blackberries, elder fruits, sloe fruits and wild grapes.
Black and grey come from the bark of alder, the young tips of blackberry, the berries of buckthorn, the nuts of butternut, the bark of logwood, and the roots of Yellow Flag Iris.
Once the dye has been extracted, the liquor must be strained off, and the plant remains thrown away. Let the liquor cool to hand-temperature before adding the material to be dyed. Dyes can be stored for future use in tightly sealed jars in a cool environment.
Before tying, the fabric must be dry and uncreased. All types of string will work, but cotton isn't as resistant as linen or sisal rope. The choice of thread will affect your patterns. Clothes pins or other types of clips can also be used - anything which grips, including knotting or folding the fabric itself. Various combinations of techniques will create lovely and interesting patterns. You can even tie on peas or buttons, or even sew designs into the cloth. Finer stitches can be used for more delicate motifs.
Tritik is a type of tie-dyeing involving stitching. You make a row of stitches using the running stitch, and then pull the thread to gather the cloth as tightly as possible. It's the folds and gathers rather than the thread that prevents the dye from colouring the fabric.
The wax is applied hot, so one must work fast when applying it to the cloth. It is necessary to stir the wax frequently with a brush so that it doesn't cool. The material is usually placed on a special frame, where it is tacked to keep it taut. Let the excess wax run off the brush before applying it.
Spontaneous designs can produce surprising effects, just as nice as those designs which have been planned. It is not necessary to be 'artistic' to produce good results in batik. Some of the best effects are created by chance, like the wax accidentally cracking and letting bits of colour in. This is known as 'crackling.'
The dye must be cold since the wax must not be made hot enough to melt. The cloth is then immersed in the dyebath. When finished, it is hung to drip. It should not be rinsed, rather, just wrung dry. If you wish to add more colour, don't remove the wax. When the fabric is dry, pin it to the frame again and wax new areas. These new areas will retain the colour of the original dye, whereas the still unwaxed portions will combine with the new colour.
Aluminum should be added at one part per four parts of fabric to be dyed. The mordanting is done before dyeing. Stir the aluminum well into enough soft rainwater as will cover the fabric to be dyed. Add the fabric. Heat the vessel slowly, taking about an hour to get to the simmering point. Keep simmering gently for another hour, stirring occasionally. Then allow the water to cool. Let the fabric drop over the pot, squeezing gently without wringing or rinsing. Dye the fabric immediately or dry it on a towel and store it.
Iron should be added to the dyebath itself in the last fifteen to thirty minutes of the dyeing. Always lift the fabric out before stirring in the mordant, then replace the fabric and simmer. This will create a deeper and darker tone. Use one part of iron per 32 parts of fabric. Too much iron tends to make the fabric rough. After dyeing, rinse well in warm water to retain the softness of the fabric.