4. BioChromes

Research and ideation

I’m heading into Biochromes week feeling both excited and a bit unsure, since I don’t have much experience with living colors. But I’m really looking forward to putting on a lab coat and seeing where this takes me.

In Cecilia Raspanti’s introduction, the idea of using natural dye-making to reconnect with our surroundings really resonated with me. I’m particularly interested in how the fabrics and colors we create this week could reflect landscapes, craftsmanship, and heritage. The thought that what we make or wear could, down to its fibers, represent where we come from and our communities is inspiring.

Given my background in crop sciences, I’m eager to explore the plants and soil from my own environment and consider how I can create something that expresses my connection to the place I grew up.

While researching, I also started thinking about Atelier Rwanda, which focuses on the entire process of natural dyeing within the world of contemporary textiles. Their natural dyes come from sources like the Kimbazi flower, scientifically known as Tithonia diversifolia, a species in the Asteraceae family, commonly called the tree marigold. I found the images below showing the process of extracting color from the Kimbazi flower.

Inspired by these traditions, I’m approaching the first Biochromes lab day with thoughts of place, belonging, and community, and how these ideas can be expressed through materials. I’m eager to learn more about Local Color.

What are Biochromes?

Biochromes are natural pigments created by living organisms. Unlike the harmful chemical dyes commonly used in the textile industry, biochromes are eco-friendly, focusing on being:

1. Locally sourced and sustainable
2. Made from biological materials and fully compostable
3. Zero waste

What is Natural Dyeing

Natural Dyeing is the process of using natural dyes that are extracted from natural sources, such as plants, minerals and insects. You can extract beautiful colors from leaves, flowers, bark, roots as well as rocks, fruits and veggies. text

Natural Dyeing

On our first day in the laboratory, I was extremely excited about the natural dyeing course, as it has so many practical applications in everyday life. I felt eager to try every possible experiment related to the course. Below are some of the experiments I attempted.

materials

• Wool of rabbit • 1500 grams of Marigold flower • Knife • 1 l of Water • 1 PC of Strainer • 1 Large bowl • 1 spoon of Baking soda

PROCEDURE

1. Ensure your rabbit wool is clean from organic debris to be dyed.

2. Use equal weights flowers to yarns.

3. Add flowers to a large dye pot and fill with warm water.

4. Add baking soda to the mixture

5. Cover with a lid, bring to a simmer, and steep for an hour.

6. Strain flowers and add prepared, soaked wool to pot.

7. Heat on low for about an hour, gently stirring fibers often.

8. Turn off heat and steep fibers until desired results are achieved.

9. Rinsed well and hang dried.

Second method: Hammering

Materials - A leaf - Hammer - Papers - knitted piece of fabric - Board

PROCEDURE

Step 1: Lay Out Boards.

Step 2: Cover Boards. Paper towels are a good material for this.

Step 3: Place Fabric on Boards.

Step 4: Lay Out leaves.

Step 5: Tape Down leaves. Securely.

Step 6: Carefully Flip Over the Fabric.

Step 7: Hammer!

Third method: Solar Dyeing

Solar dyeing is a fun and easy way to dye fabrics at home, though it requires a bit of patience! This gentle technique involves setting up a dye bath and then simply waiting for the sun to do the rest. The process is quite straightforward—just combine all the ingredients in a jar and let the sunlight work its magic. It’s a great method for producing unique results, and it's perfect for teaching kids how colors are extracted from natural materials!

PROCEDURE

• Prepare your yarn or fabric with a mordant in order to make it more colorfast. Place the yarn or fabric in a large-mouthed jar or lidded plastic bucket.

• Pour in your dye bath until the jar is full,

• Alternatively you can put dyestuff into the water with the textile and top with water. Note: I prefer not to do this with wool yarn as the vegetable matter gets tangled in the fibers.

• Put the lid on and sit out in the sun for a few days and let the magic happen (if you can wait that long)!

You will need to ensure that the dye bath reaches a temperature of 185 degrees which is when the chemical reaction between the plant-based dye stuff and the mineral mordant takes place.

Because you are not moving the textiles whilst they are dyeing, this method usually produces an uneven variegated result. However this is perfect for dyeing wool, as very little felting will take place.

Illustration: My own creative process starts with color. Once I have the colors and textures around me, they turn into a story and the story turns into a fabric craft of some sort.