First you gather the flower heads from the outdoors -- flower heads will create a greenish yellow; you can collect leaves too, which will turn the dye more green, slightly muddied. I based this experiment mostly on Jenny Dean’s Wild Colour. Then you weigh the plant material (they’re in the plastic bag) so you can plan how much fibre you’ll be able to dye. Good to start with a 1:1 ratio here, though for richer colors try making it more concentrated.
I’m using Kona Cotton PFD (prepared for dye). PFD fabrics have likely been bleached and cleaned somewhat but they are not fully prepared for dyeing in that they haven’t been scoured or mordanted -- they just haven’t gone through any extra processes to chemically attach any extra colors to the fabric molecules. It’s a good idea to soak your fabric before dyeing, this is called ‘wetting out’ the fibre. Opens things up on a molecular level.
Also if you are mordanting (explained momentarily) make sure you are using separate tools! This glass bowl I will use for food in the future because it’s just fabric and water in there -- but those tongs and wooden spoons will come in contact with the mordant which makes it unsafe for food consumption. Mordants are typically metal salt solutions that are used to create something for the dye to hold onto which is especially important for cellulose fibers. Since they are typically purchased in a fine powder form it is crucial to wear protection on eyes nose and mouth. I say “typical” because there is a whole world of mordants I haven’t fully explored -- including using rusty nails and vinegar to create iron mordants, dropping a copper pipe into the dye pot, using rhubarb leaves or acorns or soy milk to mordant. Though it’s recommended to take precautions, I’m using Alum Acetate which is actually quite safe. Just don’t want the powder in your eyes or your food. I dye in my kitchen with my cats around.
For Alum Acetate I’ve been using a 5% ratio of fibre to alum. You mix it in with boiling water (above, the Pyrex beaker has the mordant solution in it) and then add that to your water (I’m mordanting in the black enamel pot) which you add the fibre to and simmer for an hour. I try to leave things in their pots for a long time. The bottom photo is me transferring the mordanted fiber straight from the mordant pot into the dye pot. You can totally mordant and dry your fabric and keep it for later. I did not scour the cotton which I really should have (another slightly chemical process of simmering for a few hours which strips the cotton of waxes and other things that will get in the way of dye particles).
The process for making the dye is pretty straightforward -- place the plant material in the pot and simmer for an hour, then let it cool for a while (maybe even overnight!) before straining out the dye stuff (usually by pouring it into another large pot through a colander), heating it up again for putting the fibre in. You want enough water in the pot so that the fibre can move freely around. You aren’t going to dilute the dye this way -- the concentration of plant material will be what determines the color of the dye. As you can see it’s a fairly pale color (it will be paler once dry) but it’s still a pleasant shade! And can be made richer by scouring and making a more concentrated dye. You simmer the fabric in the dye pot for an hour, but again, leaving it overnight will help increase dye uptake.
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