These are the dyes which can be applied directly to the fabrics from an aqueous solution. These are most useful for fabrics which can form hydrogen bonds with the Dyeing of Fabrics. The direct dyes mainly the basic dyes and were widely hailed because they made it unnecessary to use a mordant or binder in dyeing cotton. The colours are not as brilliant as those in the basic dyes but they have better fastness to light and washing, and such fastness can be measurably improved by after treatments (diazotized and developed.) Direct dyes can be used on cotton, linen, rayon, wool, silk and nylon. These dyes usually have azo linkage –N=N- and high molecular weight. They are water soluble because of sulfonic acid groups.