BioChromes¶

The textile industry is one of the most polluting sectors worldwide, particularly its dying processes. This week we explored alternative coloring methods and dying processes that prioritize environmental responsibility and local production using natural and regenerative color sources from plants, insects, bacteria, and soils. We looked to prioritize environmental responsibility and sourcing of dyes and pigments from the immediate environment.

1. Inspiration¶

My favorite thing about this week is that I have begun to look at my immediate surroundings in a whole new way. What color might these flowers make, are they color fast or fugitive (fades)? How about those “weeds” and the loads of goldenrod and mugwort in my local park already gone to seed? Marigolds, mugwort, and goldenrod are pictured below.

One pioneer I salute is Cecilia Raspanti and the Local Color project. Not only has she and her colleagues advanced the science and craft of biochromes, but she convinced the city of Amsterdam to de-pave parking spots on her block and transformed them into dye gardens. Our local Fab Hub Kendall is already abuzz with the idea of doing the same.

Another inspiration is Svetlana Khachatryan, whose biochromes journey has taken her far beyond her initial projects at Fabricademy.

3. Tools¶

4. Process and workflow¶

"Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. "

How-to use footnotes for fabrication files

Fabrication files are a necessary element for evaluation. You can add the fabrication files at the bottom of the page and link them as a footnote. This was your work stays organised and files will be all together at the bottom of the page. Footnotes are created using ¹ (without spaces, as shown in Step 1 & 2, and referenced as you see at the bottom of this page) You can reference the fabrication files to multiple places on your page.

4.1 Step 1¶

This model ³ was obtained by.. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.

4.2 Step 2¶

The laser cut nesting ² was created using.. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.

4.3 Step 3¶

...

5. Results¶

Results & documentation

Don’t forget to document the outcome including:
Upload the photos & files on oscircularfashion
Final result
Photos from different stages
Videos of movement or interaction, show how a material moves, something was assembled or the interactive
Include measurements or a reference object to give a sense of size
Describe the (material) properties or what you made
Comparison between attempts, if you did multiple experiments or generated multiple files before fabricating / deploying. You can use a table as shown in week 4

5.1 Documenting experiments in a table for comparison¶

example from the documentation of Petra Garaiová FabTextiles Barcelona 2021-22

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

Two ways of showcasing and comparing results with images below

On the left an image of a sample made by xxx with xxx. On the right, an image of a sample made by xxx with xxx and xxx.

6. Weekly reflection & critical thinking¶

What did I learn? What did I personally find interesting or surprised me?
What would I do differently? If something "failed" do I know how else to tackle it now?"
How does this connect to my final project or my learning trajectory?
What are implications and possible applications, think also from the ethical or environmental aspect, how it could connect to your practice and project?

NuEval — final step

Go to NuEval and fill in the checklist, when not complete notify your instructor.

7. Recipe files & References¶

Recipe: download my recipe booklet here ↩
Recipe: Dye recipe pdf ↩
Reference: Author; Title; Source; year ↩