4. BioChromes

Research

This week, each Fabricademy member collected various organic waste, including peels, leaves, and vegetables, to create natural dyes and adjust the pH using different mordants. We learned about the effect of each mordant and the proportion we should add to obtain cool and warm colors when creating natural dyes, pigments and inks.

Process and workflow

Textile Preparation:

• Cut textiles and small rolls of cotton, viscose, silk, and linen to assess how the pigment adheres to different textile fibers
• Prepare a mixture of water with 2% sodium bicarbonate and heat the textiles at a low temperature to open up the fibers

Material Preparation:

• Cut the organic materials into small pieces
• Place them in a container and heat them at a low temperature for one hour
• Filter the water to separate the liquid from the solid materials
• Distribute the hot liquid into different containers
• Weigh the fabric
• Weigh the mordants

For bright colors, use 12% alum. Also, adjust the pH using lemon or vinegar.

For dark colors, use 1% Iron

• Mix the mordants with the dye to change the pH
• Document the proportions of each dye and the colors
• Place the fabric in the mixture for one hour
• Remove, hang, and dry the textiles
• Iron the textiles

Inspiration

I like how Amy Nguyen uses shibori to combine patterns with organic shapes created by the pigment and then layers the textiles to create clothing pieces.

Tools

• Pots
• Measuring cups
• Spoons
• Silicone Spatula
• Scale
• Bowls
• Containers
• Tape
• Marker

Materials

• Mordant (Iron & Alum)
• Red Cabbage
• Eucalyptus leaves
• Indigo Leaves
• Lemon
• Sodium bicarbonate
• Vinegar
• Silk, Cotton, Viscose, Linen

Process and workflow

Inspired by the Bio Lab experiments, I purchased eucalyptus leaves, indigo leaves, and purple cabbage to make various dyes, pigments, and inks.

Red Cabbage Dye - Silk

1. Chop the cabbage into small pieces
2. Boil the cabbage in water until the water turns a deep purple
3. Strain the cabbage water into a separate container
4. Simmer the fabric in the dye bath for 60 minutes and let it soak in the dye overnight to get a deeper color
5. Remove the fabric from the dye and hang to dry

Add a Mordant to change pH:

On the left, you'll find an image of a sample made with cabbage and lemon. The dye is brighter. On the right, is an image of a sample made with cabbage and alum.

Pink:

• 6g silk
• 200 ml dye bath
• 6 teaspoons lemon juice

Purple:

• 6g silk
• 200 ml dye bath
• 12% Alum

On the left, you'll find an image of a sample made with cabbage and sodium bicarbonate. The dye is brighter. On the right, is an image of a sample made with cabbage and iron. The fabric looks darker but still bright.

Dark Blue:

• 6g silk
• 200 ml dye bath
• 1% Iron

Green:

• 6g silk
• 200 ml dye bath
• 20 g Sodium Bicarbonate

Eucalyptus Dye - SILK

1. Boil the eucalyptus leaves in water for 1 hour or more
2. Strain the eucalyptus water into a separate container
3. Simmer the fabric in the dye bath for 60 minutes and let it soak in the dye overnight to get a deeper color
4. Remove the fabric from the dye and hang to dry

Add a Mordant to change pH:

light yellow:

• 6g silk
• 350 ml dye bath
• 1/2 lemon

Golden:

• 6g silk
• 350 ml dye bath
• 20g Alum

light golden:

• 6g silk
• 350 ml dye bath
• 6g Sodium Bicarbonate

Green:

• 6g silk
• 200 ml dye bath
• 10g indigo leaves powder
• 10g Alum

Gray:

• 6g silk
• 200 ml dye bath
• 1/2 teaspoons Iron

Documenting experiments

Test - Cotton

Material name	Fabric composition	Breathability	Moisture-wicking abilities	Heat retention abilities	Stretchability	Washing temperatures
Cotton	Orgaanic fibers	Highly breathable	High	Low	Low	Cool

Results

For this pigment test, I started by soaking the fabric in warm water for an hour. Then, I picked out a few red cabbage dyes and began dyeing the fabric. The cool thing was, by using dyes with different mordants, I got a bunch of different colors and sometimes even made the colors brighter. I also tried using vinegar on the parts I wanted to lighten.

Once the dyes were ready, I had fun folding the fabric and mixing the eucalyptus and red cabbage colors.

Recycling the dye into pigments

Tools

• Pots
• Measuring cups
• Spoons
• Silicone Spatula
• Scale
• Bowls
• Containers
• Coffee filter papers
• Tape
• Marker

Materials

• Bath Dye
• Arabic Gum
• watercolor papers

Ingredients & Recipes

To make the powdered pigment, I used dye made from red cabbage. I started by placing 250 ml of dye in a glass container, then heated the dye at a low temperature and added 25 g of alum. In a separate container, I placed 50 ml of hot water and added 12 g of sodium bicarbonate.

To combine both mixtures, I placed a small glass container inside a larger one. Then, I added the sodium bicarbonate in small portions and used a silicone spatula to press the foam generated when combining both components.

This is important because if the container containing the alum is too full when adding the Sodium Bicarbonate, the mixture will expand and may overflow.

After combining the two mixtures, we must wait 4 hours for the pigment to settle at the bottom of the container so that we can filter it.

To filter the mixture and extract the pigment, we will use a paper filter and a glass container. When pouring the mixture into the filter, we can see that the liquid falls into the container and the pigment remains in the filter, appearing as a thick mass. I waited for it to dry and removed the pigment from the filter. If you filter a large amount of dye, you may extract the pigments in large pieces, you can grind them and turn them into a fine powder. I left it in large pieces because they were still a little damp.

Purple pigment

• 250 ml Dye bath
• 25 g of Alum
• 12 g of Sodium Bicarbonate

Inks

To make inks, I used dyes extracted from red cabbage and eucalyptus leaves. I prepared a base mixture of 250 ml of dye bath and 5 teaspoons of Arabic gum. This mixture was heated for 30 minutes.

To achieve a thicker ink consistency, I experimented with a smaller batch. I combined 100 ml of dye bath with 4 teaspoons of Arabic gum and heated it for 20 minutes. I found this mixture more viscous in ink. I repeated this process with the remaining dye baths and created color swatches on watercolor paper.

I encountered an unexpected color change with the blue dye when mixed with Arabic gum. It shifted from a vibrant blue to a dark green hue.

Best recipe

• 100 ml Dye bath
• 4 teaspoon Arabic gum
• Heat for 20 minutes

Results

Color swatches

• 01 Red cabbage + Sodium bicarbonate
• 02 Red cabbage + Iron
• 03 Red cabbage + Alum
• 04 Red cabbage + Lemon
• 05 Matcha + Alum
• 06 Eucalyptus leaves + Indigo leaves + Alum
• 07 Eucalyptus leaves + Iron
• 08 Eucalyptus leaves + Sodium bicarbonate
• 09 Eucalyptus leaves + Sodium alum
• 10 Eucalyptus leaves + Lemon

Exploring natural inks on watercolor paper

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