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4. BioChromes

Research

describe what you see in this image Photo: Courtesy of edibledenver.com

"This week, we discuss biochromes. Biochromes that were used are creating dyes from natural sources using natural fibers such as plant (i.e., cotton, linen, hemp, ramie) or animal (i.e., wool or silk). Biochromes are natural pigments produced by living organisms — such as plants, bacteria, algae, and fungi. They are responsible for the colors we see in nature: the green of leaves, the pinks and purples in flowers, or even the iridescent shimmer on butterfly wings and beetles. In fashion and textiles, biochromes are gaining attention as a sustainable alternative to synthetic dyes, which often cause water pollution and use toxic chemicals."

References & Inspiration

I am inspired by another professor by the name of Kate Turnbull (https://www.secretdyery.com/secretdyer). Her combination of practice + education + advocacy is a model for how designers can build impact beyond just making garments. Her workshop model (teaching others to dye, sharing techniques) resonates with open-source fashion ideals. She’s a living case study of how heritage craft (dying) and cutting-edge sustainable fashion can meet. Her combination of practice + education + advocacy is a model for how designers can build impact beyond just making garments. Her workshop model (teaching others to dye, sharing techniques) resonates with open-source fashion ideals. She’s a living case study of how heritage craft (dying) and cutting-edge sustainable fashion can meet.

Photo by Katie Turnbull from Natural Earth Paint Photo by Katie Turnbull from LinkedIn


* Photos by Katie Turnbull from Natural Earth Paint and LinkedIn

Photo courtesy of Darlene Eberhardt-Burke

Materials

- [avocado](http://class.textile-academy.org)
- [black beans](http://class.textile-academy.org)

Tools

- [pots and pans...](http://class.textile-academy.org)
- [spoon, tongs, wisk etc](http://class.textile-academy.org)
- [petri dish, beakers](http://class.textile-academy.org)

Process and workflow

describe what you see in this image

My first step was to.....

Follow the process... 1. WOF 2. WASH & SCOUR 3. MORDANT 4. DYE BATH 5. RINSE

  1. WOF From the image above, the weight of all of the fabric was was 5.9 ounces which is converted to 167 grams.
    WOF = (Weight of fiber) x (% of Dye Needed / 100) = 167g x 0.02 = 3.34 of soda ash

  2. WASH & SCOUR For this experiment, I only scour the cotton fabric and cotton yarn.
    3.34g of soda ash was added to water and it was boil on the stove and simmer for 2 hours.

  3. MORDANT I added the scour fabric into a mordant bath. I used 15% WOF of alum for the mordant. Therefore, 25g of alum was added to water and the scour fabric was added to the bath. This step is used in order to help the dyes penetrate the fabric/yarns. The wool was only 4 grams and all was mordanted in the one pot. The mordant was boil on the stove and simmer for 2 hours.

  1. DYE BATH

I used avocado (skins and pits) and black bean. Prepare this recipe [^1] by collecting the ingredients necessary, to be found in the list below:

Avocado

Both the avocado skins and pits were throughly cleaned and place in the pot with water. The dye bath simmer for over 2 hours and the color looked a little light. I simmer it again for another hour and strained the skins and pit out of the pot. I added all of the fabrics and left it overnight.

Blackbeans

The blackbeans were placed in water and sat for a few hours. Next, I put the beans in a pot and simmer for 2 hours. It had a dark blueish black hue. I strained the blackbeans out and added the fabrics. I let it sit overnight in the dye bath.

  1. After both dye baths sat overnight, I warm up both baths to simmer for 30 minutes. I let both baths cool and rinse off fabrics with ph neutral soap. The avocado fabric looks a slight salmon pink tone and the blackbean was a purple-grayish tone.

RESULTS

Avacado

On the left, the image shows avocado dye samples treated with different modifiers. The modifiers used were vinegar, alum, and sodium bicarbonate. Each modifier was applied across three textile substrates: cotton fabric, cotton yarn, and wool fibers, allowing for direct comparison of color variation based on both fiber type and chemical modification.

Blackbeans

On the right, the image displays black bean dye samples treated with the same set of modifiers—vinegar, alum, and sodium bicarbonate—and applied to the same three textile materials: cotton fabric, cotton yarn, and wool fibers. Using consistent mordants and substrates across both dye sources enabled a controlled comparison of how different natural dyes respond to identical chemical conditions.


Recycling the dye into pigments

I used 60% of the weight of the dye with alum. The alum was stirred in and the solution emulsified in the beaker with the coffee filter on top. It took about 3 days for pigment to dry.

Here is the chart of the pigments.