BioChromes¶

Preparing the fibres

Leaving fibres to dry overnight

STEP 2: PREPARING DYE MATERIALS¶

We left the fibres overnight and in the morning we begun the dye process. We chose turmeric, hibiscus and red cabbage for a varied source material and varied result / process.

Weights of material used:

Cabbage: 480g Turmeric: 50g Hibiscus: 45.5g

Processes followed were:

This let us with:

Preparing the cabbage

After boiling process, unfiltered

Preparing the hibiscus

After boiling process, unfiltered

STEP 3: FILTRATION¶

We began filtering the dyes by straining and removing the material.

Video of material straining

After this, we filtered slowly through a coffee filter. The process for Tumeric was a little different as there was a lot of sediment left in this dye. Creating a paste helped the powder dissolve well, but there was still build up, and we needed to filter slowly / use multiple coffee filters for this process because of the weight. We were also informed that the material of the coffee filter can effect the dyes as it may contain chemicals. We used a strainer for extra support, but in hindsight the strainer would have been more useful beneath the coffee filter.

After the dyes were successfully filtered, we added a selection of fibres to samples of each, letting them soak for roughly 24 hours.

STEP 4: MODIFICATIONS¶

We measure the PH of the dyes to help us identify different colourways and correlations, as well as monitor the changes in our experimental process.

Here are the initial PHs of our filtered, natural dyes:

We made some modifications to our red cabbage dye using acid and alkaline to see its effects on our colours. We sectioned off 4 x 50ml into a petri dish and used citric acid, alum and soda ash to modify. Results are documented below:

As mentioned above, we also made some self experiments mixing numerous dyes together. Although not as chemically accurate, they created interesting shades, samples of which can be found below:

I also used some experimental techniques to create this examples, leaving the wool skein half in the sample and half out, to allow a gradient of absorbtion. I also used a similar absorbtion technique for the top left sample, and created the affect on the top right by dipping one side, drying and then submerging the rest in another dye. All these experimental samples were merely dipped, but Carlotta let some fibres soak for around 18-20hrs in different modified dyes. Examples of which can be found below:

...

5. Creating a Lake Pigment¶

We created three lake pigments, one from the unmodified cabbage dye (PH6) and twp from the modified (PH2/PH5) dye.

PROCESS: from Carlotta Premazzi

Dissolve: Mix the alum into half a cup of hot water until dissolved. Do the same with the soda ash in a separate cup. Alum to Soda Ash Ratio: 2:1. 1% w/v means 1 gram of powder in 100 ml of liquid.

Mix: Pour the dissolved alum into your dye bath and stir well.

Precipitate: Slowly pour the dissolved soda ash into the dye bath. It will fizz up.

Filter: Let the mixture sit for a few hours until the powder settles at the bottom. Pour off the clear water from the top, then dump the remaining colorful sludge into a coffee filter.

Dry & Grind: Leave the paste to dry completely. Once it forms a hard crust, grind it into a fine powder (always wear a face mask!)

Colour from Lake Pigment on the filters

Lake Pigment documented by Carlotta

Our PH2 pigment remained pretty much liquid overnight, probably because it was hard to make the quantities exact at such small amounts. If necessary, pigment can be placed into I observed that the modified dye kept its original colour, whereas the unmodified was completely transformed.

6. RESULTS:¶

How to rinse

When removing fibres, you must wash them gently with lukewarm/cold water to remove any excess dye. Make sure the water does not hit the fibres directly as this can cause patchiness, but rinse in a bowl with gentle squeezing once or twice before drying.

UNMODIFIED DYE SWATCHES: FRESH

UNMODIFIED DYE SWATCHES: 3HRS DRY

UNMODIFIED DYE SWATCHES: 3 DAYS LATER

7. Recipe files & References¶