Patent ID: 8187342

Claim:
A process for continuous dyeing of pretreated wool and wool blends with indigo to produce dimensionally stable wool and wool blends, comprising, in order, the steps of: subjecting shrink-resistant, dimensionally-stable pretreated wool and wool blends to at least one step of wetting and pre-dye washing; subjecting said pretreated wool and wool blends to at least one step of indigo dyeing, and oxidizing to form a dyed wool and wool blend; and subjecting the dyed wool and wool blend to at least one step of post-dye washing, wherein, the at least one step of post-dye washing includes at least one hot wash and/or acid wash; wherein the steps of dyeing and oxidizing together are less than about 5 minutes in duration per each at least one step of dyeing and oxidizing to form a dyed wool and wool blend; and wherein the steps of pre-dye washing, dyeing and oxidizing and post-dye washing are continuous in a same machine.