04 BIOCHROMES

Research and Inspiration

Yunnan Province's Traditional Tie-Dye

Blue is the colour of Dali, Tie Dye or 扎染 is the time-honored handmade art of the local Bai ethnic group, rendering colors extracted from plants as patterns onto handwoven white cloth or a blended fabric of cotton and flax.The technique dates back over 1,000 years in China.

The actual dye is mainly made from indigo plants. To produce the dye, indigowoad leaves, which are blue, are gathered and fermented in a pit until they turn indigo in color. White cloth is then tied and sewn into different patterns by hand and subsequently dipped in dye. After the cloth is dried and rinsed, designs of butterflies, plum blossoms, fish, and so on, will "magically" appear, often boasting stunning effects that painting cannot achieve. In 2006, the Bai tie-dye technique was listed as national intangible cultural heritage.

Main Techniques

• Pinching: To use two chopsticks or clamps to clamp the cloth together and clamped area will not be soaked by the dye to produce a pattern.
• Binding: To tie up the cloth.
• Stitching: To create the pattern you want by stitching and pulling the threads tight.

You can read more about it here

Natural Dyes

Natural Dyes are biodegradable, non-toxic and non-allergic. They are extracted from natural resources and hence are eco-friendly. Synthetic dyes are not only harmful to the environment, some of them contain carcinogenic components which are bad for our health.

Classification of Natural Dyes

Plant Dyes: Holy Hocks, Indigo, Madder,Turmeric, Marigold, Logwood, Weld

Insect Dyes: Cochineal, Tyrian Purple, Lac

Mineral Dyes: Ochre, Lapis Lazuli, Lead

Preparations

Material name	Fabric composition	Breathability	Moisture-wicking abilities	Heat retention abilities	Stretchability	Washing temperatures
Cotton	Cellulose Fiber	High	High	Low	Low	< 40°C
Dutch Wool	Animal Fiber	High	High	High	Medium	< 30°C
South American Wool	Animal Fiber	High	High	High	Medium	< 30°C

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Scouring

-To remove any wax, pectic substances, and oil on the fabrics.

1. Put dye materials into a large pot of water.
2. Add soda 10% weight of the materials.
3. Simmer for approximately 1hr. Stir occationally. (The resulting water may look yellow brown.)
4. Allow fibers to cool down slowly and then rinse in hot water.

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Mordanting

-To make sure the colours we obtain from our dyestuff last for a long time.

1. Boil enough water to cover all of your fibres.
2. Add 15grams of Alum.
3. Mix thoroughly until dissolved.
4. Wet your fibres.
5. Simmer for 1hr, stir occasionally
6. Remove and wash with cold water

Dye Pots

Recipes

Name	Measurments	Original Colour	Dye Colour	Water
Sweet Pea	20g	Blue/Purple	Blue/Purple	2 liters
Red Onion Peels	50g	Red	Green	2 liters
Weld	20g	Yellow/Green	Yellow	2 liters
Madder	100g	Brown	Red	2 liters
Holy Hocks	20g	Black/Purple	Green	2 liters
St.John's Wort	30g	Brown/Green	Green	2 liters

Process

I made a dye bath with Holy Hocks. For 100 grams of dye materials I used 20 grams of Holy Hocks and 2 liters of water. I put my dye materials in the pot when the water reached 80 degrees. After 1hr of simmering my dye bath was ready to go :) For dying, I left my fibers in the dye baths around 1hr, until I was satisfied with the colours that I got.

Results

Tools

- Tongs
- Measuring Scale
- Stove
- Spoon
- Pots

Colour Modification

We can achieve multiple shades of colours from a single dye bath. There are multiple ways to do so:

Acidic Modifiers: Vinegar, lemon juice, lime juice or citric acid will shift reds towards oragne or yellow, purple towards pink and orange towards yellow.

Alkaline Modifiers: Baking soda, baking powder, soda ash will shift purples towards blue-greens, yellows and reds to pink.

Metallic Salt Modifiers: Iron, Copper or Alumininum will shift colours differently. Iron tends to dull, sadden or darken colours. Aluminum will brighten and copper makes colours greener in tone.

Methods:

1. Add a bit of your modifier to your dye bath
2. Add fabric.
3. Remove fabric and rines in a PH neurtral solution/water.

Cabbage Dye

Process

1. Chop your cabbage until obtaining medium size chunks.

2. Heat up enough water to cover fibers. Bring to a boil.

3. Put in the chopped cabbage and let sit at a simmering temperature.

4. Add 3 spoons of salt

5. Simmer for 1 hour.

Materials

Material name	Fabric composition	Breathability	Moisture-wicking abilities	Heat retention abilities	Stretchability	Washing temperatures
Linen	Cellulose Fiber	High	High	Low	Low	< 40°C
Dutch Wool	Animal Fiber	High	High	High	Medium	< 30°C

I prepared some linen fabric and stitched lines on them and pulled the threads really tight. Because I would like to get the same effect as the traditional Tie-dye from Yunnan.

Colour Modification

1. 10 grams of Sodium Carbonate to the original dye bath

2. 5 grams of Sodium Carbonate to the original dye bath

3. Original dye bath

4. 5 grams of Citric Acid

Results

Inks

Normally the original dye colour from red cabbage is purple, but I got a blue. So I looked up some recipes to figure out the reason. I think the temperature was too high when I was making the dye bath and the cabbage got cooked, which changed the dye colour.

Fabric

Recipes:Zuahaza

Okayyy, so I didn't get any patterns from the stitchings I did:(

Here are some possible reasons:

1. Linen doesn't take in a lot of pigments and the colours are too light to show obvious patterns
2. I used cotton thread when stitching.
3. I didn't pull the threads tight enough.

Tools

- Tongs
- Measuring Scale
- Stove
- Spoon
- Pots
- Chopping Board
- Knife

Pigment

To not waste any dye we created pigments from the dye baths.

Steps:

1. For 1 liter of pigmented water we add 15 grams and alum. Stir until everything is dissolved
2. Add a little bit of soda until the pigmented water doesn't created more bubbles. Don't add too much of soda in one go to avoid a volcanic eruption!
3. Prepare an empty jar, coffie filter and a sieve to filter out all the water
4. Once all the water is filtered, your pigment is ready:)

Tools

- Measuring Cup
- Measuring Scale
- Stirring Spoon
- Sieve
- Coffie Filter

Bacteria Dye

Textile dyeing with pigment-producing bacteria is a natural and sustainable alternative for toxic textile dyes. They are biodegradable and friendly to humans and animals and the environment. This week, we cultivated Serratia on fabric to produce a unique pattern on the fabric.

Process

Bacteria Growth

Autoclave

Material name	Fabric composition	Breathability	Moisture-wicking abilities	Heat retention abilities	Stretchability	Washing temperatures
Silk	Sericin and Fibroin	High	High	Low	Low	< 40°C

Observation

After 6 days, the petri dishes that had LB Broth as food had more significant growth than the one that had Agar. So I guess we can come up with the conclusion that Serratia not only likes Peanut Butter but also likes LB Broth!

Photo by Ray

Result

Tools

- Petri Dish
- Autoclave
- Incubator
- Parafilm
- Scale
- Inoculation Loop
- Bunsen Burner