I had some dye bath from the previous walnut dye experiment, so I thought I would try dyeing some wool that had been mordanted with alum and CoT.
Didn't turn out as well as I had expected. I expected lighter, but this was about 10-15% of the original color. I was expecting more.
I think I did about 2 oz, again mordanted with 1T alum and .75 tsp C.o. T. (If it's 4 oz, then the the alum and CoT would be double.)
Simmered, let cool and added to the dye bath, which was in a bucket outside the garage. Didn't know what to expect, so I just tried that. The color did not seem to be adhering. I rinsed it and rinsed out most of the color, so I put the dye bath and wool into the crock put, simmered, let cool, and left overnight.
It's a lot lighter than I was expecting, but I have a few more things to try just to see what the change would be.
And with that I will have to go stock up on more fisherman's wool.
Friday, May 20, 2011
Red Cabbage #2, Exhaust bath
I had plenty of bath left over from Red Cabbage #2, which produced a lovely light grey blue.
I figured I would try 2 oz. of wool. Mordanted in 1T alum and .75 tsp of Cream of Tartar.
Put the cooled wool into the dye bath and put the crock pot on high for some time. (Lost track of time, truth be told.) Pulled the wool out and let the dye bath drain off it for a few minutes. There was a hint of purple, but I didn't think that would stay. I left it in over night.
Next day, it was about the same. Added 2T ish of iodized salt (similar to what I did for the dye bath originally), and reheated it. Let it sit overnight again.
It came out a tanish brown. Not wholly unattractive, just not what I was expecting. I'm not sure what the salt is doing, but time to research and find out.
I figured I would try 2 oz. of wool. Mordanted in 1T alum and .75 tsp of Cream of Tartar.
Put the cooled wool into the dye bath and put the crock pot on high for some time. (Lost track of time, truth be told.) Pulled the wool out and let the dye bath drain off it for a few minutes. There was a hint of purple, but I didn't think that would stay. I left it in over night.
Next day, it was about the same. Added 2T ish of iodized salt (similar to what I did for the dye bath originally), and reheated it. Let it sit overnight again.
It came out a tanish brown. Not wholly unattractive, just not what I was expecting. I'm not sure what the salt is doing, but time to research and find out.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Red Cabbage #2
The basics:
4 oz of wool, mordanted with 2 T alum and 1.5 t of Cream of Tartar, simmered for about 35-40 minutes.
3lbs of red cabbage, taken from the outer portions of two different heads.
Followed the directions (somewhat) for Recipe #232 in Natural Color by Ira G. I did change the ratio of cabbage to wool. Instead of the 8 parts cabbage to one part wool, I increased it to 12 to one. (I think. 48 oz of red cabbage to 4 oz of wool. Guess my math isn't that bad...)
Put the cabbage in the crock pot (...wow... that's a lot of cabbage) and added tap water. The original recipe said to use distilled. Don't know what difference this is going to make, but another experiment might be to use distilled. I'm cheap.
I soaked the cabbage and wool overnight. In the morning, I pulled out the wool, and added 2 T of salt to the cabbage, stirred and returned the wool to the bath. Plugged in Crocky, and put it on high. That was about two hours ago, and it's still not "simmering". Will check again in a bit.
After it's been at a high temperature for about half an hour or more, I'll unplug the crock pot and let the bath sit over night.
Here's to hoping it actually does something this time...
--
Looked into other people that have had success with red cabbage. One site blended it first, which they claim made it easier to extract the anthrocyanins, the compound that makes purple and blues (gee, given the color of the cabbage, I never would have guessed.) ;)
Might try that with the remaining cabbage. I don't think I cut things up small enough. I might try slicing the cabbage like I would for slaw, or running it through the blender like one person did.
4 oz of wool, mordanted with 2 T alum and 1.5 t of Cream of Tartar, simmered for about 35-40 minutes.
3lbs of red cabbage, taken from the outer portions of two different heads.
Followed the directions (somewhat) for Recipe #232 in Natural Color by Ira G. I did change the ratio of cabbage to wool. Instead of the 8 parts cabbage to one part wool, I increased it to 12 to one. (I think. 48 oz of red cabbage to 4 oz of wool. Guess my math isn't that bad...)
Put the cabbage in the crock pot (...wow... that's a lot of cabbage) and added tap water. The original recipe said to use distilled. Don't know what difference this is going to make, but another experiment might be to use distilled. I'm cheap.
I soaked the cabbage and wool overnight. In the morning, I pulled out the wool, and added 2 T of salt to the cabbage, stirred and returned the wool to the bath. Plugged in Crocky, and put it on high. That was about two hours ago, and it's still not "simmering". Will check again in a bit.
After it's been at a high temperature for about half an hour or more, I'll unplug the crock pot and let the bath sit over night.
Here's to hoping it actually does something this time...
--
Looked into other people that have had success with red cabbage. One site blended it first, which they claim made it easier to extract the anthrocyanins, the compound that makes purple and blues (gee, given the color of the cabbage, I never would have guessed.) ;)
Might try that with the remaining cabbage. I don't think I cut things up small enough. I might try slicing the cabbage like I would for slaw, or running it through the blender like one person did.
Strawberry dyed yarn
It's drying now, but I'll try to get a picture of it later.
I had started a dye session with Red Cabbage (#2), and had a mordant bath that I had used. As I used up the last of my alum, I thought to just put my small amount of yarn in there, and hope for the best.
So, materials used: approx. 1 oz of wool.
For the dye: The remains of two bags of stale freeze dried strawberries. Those were put into a jar (pint sized, I believe) and tap water was added to cover and fill the jar. And left to sit for several days, shaking about once a day. Now, I don't know how much I used, or how much remained, as I waited too long and had to scrape strawberry blast surprise off my ceiling. I know now that I waited too long.
Strained what was left through two layers of cheese cloth, twice. I got a good amount of gunk off. As I was mordanting the wool, I added the jar of the dye stuff and had it sit in the pot for about 8 minutes, and then added the wool. I left the jar in the pot of hot mordant (almost like a double boiler, but the jar rested on the bottom of the pot) and turned off the heat. I covered it, giving a little vent.
Left it overnight.
Ran the wool under cool water rinse a few times until color ran clear. Left to dry in my bathroom.
The color is a pale strawberry pink. Not unattractive, but not all that "WOW!" either.
Notes, observations and other things: I had read something on-line that a saltwater bath produces better color for berry dyes. Might try that next time. Also want to try heating the strawberries in the jar to see if a stronger bath is produced. (Idea of strawberries came from here: http://www.sewanee.edu/chem/chem&art/Detail_Pages/Projects_2003/Lawrence/html/Lawrence.html)
However, that does mean using up a lot of strawberries. Might just have to hit the "pick your own" place in a few weeks and pick a bunch - some to eat, some to dye.
I had started a dye session with Red Cabbage (#2), and had a mordant bath that I had used. As I used up the last of my alum, I thought to just put my small amount of yarn in there, and hope for the best.
So, materials used: approx. 1 oz of wool.
For the dye: The remains of two bags of stale freeze dried strawberries. Those were put into a jar (pint sized, I believe) and tap water was added to cover and fill the jar. And left to sit for several days, shaking about once a day. Now, I don't know how much I used, or how much remained, as I waited too long and had to scrape strawberry blast surprise off my ceiling. I know now that I waited too long.
Strained what was left through two layers of cheese cloth, twice. I got a good amount of gunk off. As I was mordanting the wool, I added the jar of the dye stuff and had it sit in the pot for about 8 minutes, and then added the wool. I left the jar in the pot of hot mordant (almost like a double boiler, but the jar rested on the bottom of the pot) and turned off the heat. I covered it, giving a little vent.
Left it overnight.
Ran the wool under cool water rinse a few times until color ran clear. Left to dry in my bathroom.
The color is a pale strawberry pink. Not unattractive, but not all that "WOW!" either.
Notes, observations and other things: I had read something on-line that a saltwater bath produces better color for berry dyes. Might try that next time. Also want to try heating the strawberries in the jar to see if a stronger bath is produced. (Idea of strawberries came from here: http://www.sewanee.edu/chem/chem&art/Detail_Pages/Projects_2003/Lawrence/html/Lawrence.html)
However, that does mean using up a lot of strawberries. Might just have to hit the "pick your own" place in a few weeks and pick a bunch - some to eat, some to dye.
Friday, May 13, 2011
In the works
Okay, so I have a few things stewing in dye pots, that I thought I'd write down while I had them on my mind.
I've been collecting dandelion heads (just the corolla and calyx), and adding water. Been doing this for a few weeks. I'll be straining them tomorrow, and seeing what I get.
I also had some dried strawberries. I thought I'd be smart and rehydrate them, as they had gone stale. Yeah, I do still have somewhat of a dye bath, but I... was stupid, and I now realize this. (What's that line, experience is information you get just after you needed it?) I put the dried strawberries in a mason jar, added water, screwed on the lid and have been shaking it every day for the past three days. I was going to strain it tonight. No need, now, really, as Kveldulf and I just spent an hour cleaning strawberry gunk off our kitchen ceiling. It probably wouldn't have been a problem, but it was warm in the house today.
The third thing I'll be working on is red cabbage. I know it's possible to extract a dye from it, and I've heard you can do it, so that's what I'm going to try.
Are these completely period? Probably not. However, the basic idea of looking at something and going "Gee, I wonder if I can get that color onto fiber" probably is. ;)
I've been collecting dandelion heads (just the corolla and calyx), and adding water. Been doing this for a few weeks. I'll be straining them tomorrow, and seeing what I get.
I also had some dried strawberries. I thought I'd be smart and rehydrate them, as they had gone stale. Yeah, I do still have somewhat of a dye bath, but I... was stupid, and I now realize this. (What's that line, experience is information you get just after you needed it?) I put the dried strawberries in a mason jar, added water, screwed on the lid and have been shaking it every day for the past three days. I was going to strain it tonight. No need, now, really, as Kveldulf and I just spent an hour cleaning strawberry gunk off our kitchen ceiling. It probably wouldn't have been a problem, but it was warm in the house today.
The third thing I'll be working on is red cabbage. I know it's possible to extract a dye from it, and I've heard you can do it, so that's what I'm going to try.
Are these completely period? Probably not. However, the basic idea of looking at something and going "Gee, I wonder if I can get that color onto fiber" probably is. ;)
Monday, May 9, 2011
SCA A&S 50 Challenge
I'm still trying to figure out what exactly I want to focus on for the challenge. Do I want to do an indepth look at natural dyeing, with the understanding that what I'm doing may not be within the scope of period, but that they too, would have looked at local plants and gone, "I wonder if that would..."
My goal (as of 10/13) is to do 50 things in Fiber Arts.
1. My first experiment with dyeing - pomegranate
2. Dyeing experiment - Tumeric
3. Dye Experiment - Saffron #1
4. Dye experiment - Saffron #2
5. Dye experiment - Annatto seeds
6. Dye experiment - Paprika
Okay, from here on out, I'm just going to put what I dyed with... I think everyone gets the idea about "dye experiment..."
So, without further ado...
7. Cinnamon
8. Stronger Cinnamon
9. Red Cabbage #1
10. Black beans (?) (Okay, I don't think black beans are period, however, it was one of the first times I did research on the how.)
11. Walnut
12. Marigold
13. Black bean dyed yarn, partially overdyed with marigold. (Didn't work so well, but the reverse probably would. Will try later.)
14. Strawberry
15. Red Cabbage #2
16. Red Cabbage #2, exhaust bath
17. Walnut exhaust bath (Juglans nigra)
18. Iris flowers experiment (Iris germanica)
19. Iris root (Iris germanica)
20. Curly Dock, leaves (Rumex crispus)
21. Queen Anne's Lace/Wild Carrot, flowers (Daucus carota)
22. Queen Anne's Lace, flowers, ammonia afterbath
23. Brown-eyed Susan, flower heads (Rudbeckia?)
24. Brown-eyed Susan, vinegar afterbath
25. Brown-eyed Susan, ammonia afterbath
26. Spun American Jacob fleece into yarn (2 ply).
27. Dyed American Jacob with Indigo
28. Spun Merino into yarn
28. Cleaned a fleece (Baby Doll - not a period fleece, but it was free)
29. Combed a fleece (Baby Doll)
30. 1 yard of bobbin lace
31. 2 feet bobbin lace (N.M #9, 60/2 thread)
32. Combed Shetland fleece
Other randomness:
Liripipe hood
Coptic bound book
Bobbin Lace
My goal (as of 10/13) is to do 50 things in Fiber Arts.
1. My first experiment with dyeing - pomegranate
2. Dyeing experiment - Tumeric
3. Dye Experiment - Saffron #1
4. Dye experiment - Saffron #2
5. Dye experiment - Annatto seeds
6. Dye experiment - Paprika
Okay, from here on out, I'm just going to put what I dyed with... I think everyone gets the idea about "dye experiment..."
So, without further ado...
7. Cinnamon
8. Stronger Cinnamon
9. Red Cabbage #1
10. Black beans (?) (Okay, I don't think black beans are period, however, it was one of the first times I did research on the how.)
11. Walnut
12. Marigold
13. Black bean dyed yarn, partially overdyed with marigold. (Didn't work so well, but the reverse probably would. Will try later.)
14. Strawberry
15. Red Cabbage #2
16. Red Cabbage #2, exhaust bath
17. Walnut exhaust bath (Juglans nigra)
18. Iris flowers experiment (Iris germanica)
19. Iris root (Iris germanica)
20. Curly Dock, leaves (Rumex crispus)
21. Queen Anne's Lace/Wild Carrot, flowers (Daucus carota)
22. Queen Anne's Lace, flowers, ammonia afterbath
23. Brown-eyed Susan, flower heads (Rudbeckia?)
24. Brown-eyed Susan, vinegar afterbath
25. Brown-eyed Susan, ammonia afterbath
26. Spun American Jacob fleece into yarn (2 ply).
27. Dyed American Jacob with Indigo
28. Spun Merino into yarn
28. Cleaned a fleece (Baby Doll - not a period fleece, but it was free)
29. Combed a fleece (Baby Doll)
30. 1 yard of bobbin lace
31. 2 feet bobbin lace (N.M #9, 60/2 thread)
32. Combed Shetland fleece
Other randomness:
Liripipe hood
Coptic bound book
Bobbin Lace
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