4. BioChromes¶

Research¶

This week I was interested in researching how natural dye was being approached in the apparel industry small-batch production. I was especially interested in what could be produced using local waste streams. Below are links to to several resources that I found informative about the challenges and innovations being considered:

For my practical investigation, I began researching food waste that I could access locally that I was confident I could find at scale. After first learning about onion skins as an option in class, I found some statistics from the University of Otago’s Food Waste Innovation Center on the large of onion skin waste that occurs in production.Between the Portland Farmers Market and a local business search, I identified 8 different providers who might be a good option for a consistent stock of skins. Over the course of a week, I collected red onion skins from four grocery stores that were in walking distance from my house.

References & Inspiration¶

This week I began by working through Cecilia Raspanti’s slides and the videos from the Fabricademy Tutorials. I was inspired by the how she set up the demonstrations and the diagrams explaining the various processes.

Being on my own and very new to natural dye, I found I needed reference the proportions and amounts needed using an existing text we had in our lab and the instructions and tutorials from Botanical Colors.

The Modern Natural Dyer | Kristine Vejar
Botanical Colors

Supplies were purchase from the following vendors:

Dharma Trading Company | Mordants, Fibers, Fabric
Rose’s Equipment | Pots/Containers/Cooktops
Dollar Tree | Cheap Kitchen Utensils

Tools¶

Cook Top
4-5 Stock Pots
Wooden Spoons
Measuring Spoons & Cups
Large Mesh Strainer
Jars/Food Prep Containers
Plastic Sheeting
Rags
Nitrile Gloves
Scissors
Scale
Round Coffee Filters
Labels/Post Its /Masking Tape
Petri Dishes
Pipettes

Process and workflow¶

The process this week was not as linear because of the time needed to heat the various solutions and soak the fiber. Now that I have done this once, I would make more of an effort to map out all of the timings more efficiently. I also need to work on creating a better camera/lighting set up for documentation to accurately reflect the colors.

Preparing Fabrics¶

STEP 1: Determining the Weight of Fabric (WoF)

For the cellulose fibers I used a cotton batiste, cotton sweatshirt fleece, and linen. I cut each fabric so that the total WoF would equal 100g.

For the protein fibers, I used a scraps silk habotai and wool roving. The total WoF for the scraps was 25g.

STEP 2: Scouring I used the following recipe and steps listed below from The Modern Natural Dyer to scour the fabrics. The cellulose fibers were scoured with Soda Ash and the protein fibers were scoured with a Seventh Generation diswashing soap.

STEP 3: Mordanting The mordanting recipes listed below using Aluminum Acetate and Aluminum Potassium Sulfate were also from The Modern Natural Dyer.

I also mordanted an extra batch of the cellulose fiber with Oak Galls powder using the recipe from Cecelia Raspanti's slides. I mordanted half of the batch a second mordant in Aluminum Acetate because I was unure if that was needed.

I experimented with labeling the swatches with a Sharpie and thread marking so they would not get mixed up in the pot.

Scouring Cellulose Fibers

Fill a stainless steel pot with enough water so material is covered and moves freely in the pot.
In a separate container, dissolve a soda ash solution. For every 100g of dry fabric, use 60ml(¼ cup) of hot water and 5g(1 ¼ teaspoons) of soda ash.
Stir the soda ash solution into the pot and add the cellulose material. Simmer the fabric for 30 minutes, occasionally rotating the contents.
Turn off the heat allowing the contents to cool. Rinse the material in warm water. Fabric can be stored 2-3 days before mordanting.

Mordanting Cellulose Fibers

Fill a stainless steel pot with enough water so material is covered and moves freely in the pot.
In a separate container, dissolve a aluminum acetate solution. For every 100g of dry fabric, use 60ml(¼ cup) of hot water and 6g(2 teaspoons) of aluminum acetate.
Stir the alumninum acetate solution into the pot and add the scoured cellulose material. Ensure the fiber is submerged and let sit for 2-24 hours. The longer the fiber sits, the more lightfastness you will achieve.
Squeeze excess mordant from the material and proceed to dyeing. You can stor the material in a wet plastic bag in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Mordanting with Oak Galls

Fill a stainless steel pot with enough water so material is covered and moves freely in the pot. Bring to a simmer
For cellulose fiber, measure out 15% WoF of Oak Gall powder and disolve into pot.
Add the scoured cellulose material. Ensure the fiber is submerged and simmer for 45 minutes
Squeeze excess mordant from the material and proceed to dyeing. Oak Gall will turn fiber a slight tan color.

Scouring Protein Fibers

Fill a stainless steel pot with enough water so material is covered and moves freely in the pot.
For every 500g of dry fabric, add 2.5ml (½ teaspoon) of mild dishwashing soap to the pot and stir.
Add the protein fibers to the pot and slowly bring the water to just under a simmer - approximately 180F/82C. Stir gently to ensure fabric stays submerged, but do not over agitate wool fibers to prevent felting.
Turn off the heat allowing the contents to cool before rinsing and squeezing out excess water. Fabric can be stored wet for up to 7 days before mordanting.

Mordanting Protein Fibers

Fill a stainless steel pot with enough water so material is covered and moves freely in the pot.
In a separate container, dissolve a aluminum potassium sulfate solution.For every 100g of dry fabric, add 60ml (¼ cup) of hot water and 14g(1 tablespoon) of aluminum potassium sulfate.
Stir the alumninum acetate solution into the pot and add the scoured protein fibers. Slowly bring the water to just under a simmer - approximately 180F/82C. Stir gently to ensure fabric stays submerged, but do not over agitate wool fibers to prevent felting. Keep the at this temperature for an hour.
Turn off the heat allowing the contents to cool before rinsing and squeezing out excess water. Fabric can be stored wet for up to 7 days before dyeing.

Preparing Pigment¶

I used instructions from Botanical Colors Onion Skin tutorial for preparing my pigment.

The recipe recommended using onion skins at 30% on the weight of fiber (WOF) for light yellows up to 100% WOF for rich golds. I was using red onion skins so the result was an olive green color.

I strained out the onion skins twice, using the strainer for the big chunks and the coffee filter to get a smooth liquid extract. I extracted the liquied into to different pots - one for the cellose fibers and one for the protein fibers.

For both dye baths, I added the fibers and slowly reheated the liquid to a simmer. The fiber cooked with the dye for 45 minutes. I then slowly cooled it down to room temperature before removing the fiber and squeezing the excess dye. I was surprised by how different the fiber color was from the color of the liquid extract.

Modifiers¶

I used vinegar and soda ash as my modifiers. In glass jars I created 100 ml solutions of vinegar and 10% soda ash. I then used pipettes to add the solutions directly onto small swatches of the fiber as they came out of the dye bath.

Above are the color of the control fibers which remained an olive green hue after they dried.

Both the vinegar and soda ash modifiers turned the fabric a yellow/orange color. The soda ash created a slightly deeper huge.

Recycling the dye into pigments¶

I used another Botanical Colors tutorial for preparing my lake pigment.

The tutorial recommended the alum solution be 60% the weight of your starting plant material and the soda ash be half the quantity of the alum. This seemed like a lot given my onion skins were 90g... I am thinking the recipe was intended for pigment powders.

I heated up 400ml of liquid from my cellulose dye bath with the alum solution. I checked the PH and it was orange.

I slowly added the soda ash with the whisk, but it bubbled over a bit. Eventually I added the entire solution. The PH was blue, which I am not sure is correct. I let the solution sit overnight to separate.

Once separated, I strained the solution for two days using a coffee filter. In the future, I would use a circular filter to speed up the drying process. Once the pigment was in its sludge state, I used a spatula to scoop it into the petri dishes and texted it as a watercolor on paper.