4. BioChromes

Research

aihirako- is one of my friend also an artist of tradicional indigo dying. She is trying to tradicional indigo dying but creating the modern design.

This summer, I participated in the Feature Fabrics Mexico 2024 project. In Mérida, Mexico, members from about 20 countries gathered to visit the villages of the Maya people and engage in activities to enhance their handicrafts using techniques learned from digital fabrication and Fabricacademy.

Among the project, there was a team that proposed natural dyeing by creating samples using natural materials available in the Maya people's region. What left an impression was the various substances they used for mordanting."

References & Inspiration

"Kakegawa City—a city famous for green tea leaves production, located an hour by car from the city I live in. Every four years, an art festival related to green tea is held. This year is the year of the festival—the Kakegawa Chaennale. A friend of mine was working on a project with an artist, using various things like flowers, plants, mud, and seashells etc. found in the city as paint. I occasionally joined them in painting together."

"That’s why I decided to make a dye solution using familiar materials from around my home and to do the mordanting with things I already had at home. I had just the right items—bakingd soda (Sodium biocarbonate) for cleaning and lemons from the garden of my father-in-law."

Process and workflow

1. Preparation

My first step was Pre-processing. Preparation the fabrics. Since it’s plant-based, I used soy milk from the fridge for the pre-treatment to help the dye stick.

=== "ingredientes"
    * Soy milk      
    * Water      
    * cotton         
    * linen


=== "recipe"

    * Since it’s plant-based, I used soy milk  from the fridge for the pre-treatment to help the dye stick.
    * soaked the cotton fabric for about 30 minutes to allow the protein to bind to the fibers.
    * After that, I wrung it out and let it air-dry.
    * Do not wash with water.

1. DYING

"Next, I made the dye solution.

 === "ingredientes"
    * Soy milk      
    * Water      
    * cotton        
    * linen


=== "recipe"

    * Since it’s plant-based, I used soy milk  from the fridge for the pre-treatment to help the dye stick.
    * soaked the cotton fabric for about 30 minutes to allow the protein to bind to the fibers.
    * After that, I wrung it out and let it air-dry.
    * Do not wash with water.

Documenting experiments

1. Mordant (Baking soda y lemosn)

=== "ingredientes" * Soy milk
* Water
* cotton
* linen

=== "recipe"

    1.-Boil the plants to extract the dye.
    2-Add calcium carbonate (or cellulose) to the boiled extract.
    3-Add a mordant solution.
    4-Strain the mixture through a filter.

Make pigments

=== "ingredientes"
    * Soy milk      
    * Water      
    * cotton        
    * linen


=== "recipe"

    1.-Boil the plants to extract the dye.
    2-Add calcium carbonate (or cellulose) to the boiled extract.
    3-Add a mordant solution.
    4-Strain the mixture through a filter.

Tools

• slides
• sources
• pots, jars...
• spoon, tongs, wisk etc
• xxxx

Material name	Fabric composition	Breathability	Moisture-wicking abilities	Heat retention abilities	Stretchability	Washing temperatures
Silk	Animal fibers - silkworm insect	Highly breathable	High	Low	Low	Cool or warm