Dyes: Batch 1 Results

I dyed wool yarn and mordanted cotton with five different foraged materials: red mulberry leaves, mulberry bark, black walnut, staghorn sumac, and oak galls. Dye material was heated in jars in a stockpot for two hours, then left to steep overnight.

I then submerged the cotton scrap and wool yarn fibers in each mini dye bath within a quarter pint Ball jar. These went into the double boiler, averting all risk of scalding the fibers or overheating the water.

I do this out of convenience, rather than perfectionism; I like “set it and forget it” methods. I know I’m going to eventually forget it despite my best efforts not to.

Results

I kept the jars in the heated water for an afternoon, then let them sit in the warm bath overnight. I took out the fibers and let them dry for about an hour before rinsing them gently with cold water. I love the reveal! There’s so much that I would do differently next time, but seeing the variation in color between the mordanted cotton and the wool yarn was rewarding. I have so many questions!!

Oak gall, mulberry bark, mulberry leaves, walnut, and sumac

Splotches immediately after rinsing

I adore the brown color of the walnut yarn! It’s such a deep, rich tone that is so welcoming to the eyes. Walnut will always be one of the most beautiful colors in the world to me, being an amateur woodworker as well. All of the dyes on cotton turned out fairly light, but the sumac took especially well to the cotton in comparison to the wool.

Sumac’s dye was especially interesting to me because you can see blue splotchiness in the bottom right corner. As the fabric dried, the splotches diluted and spread, turning the pink cool-toned. I believe the splotches occurred because it was drying on an uncleaned countertop and the contamination effected the acidity of the dye as it cured into the wet fabric.

I wondered if I could get blue out of sumac! It reminds me of how soil acidity can be effected to get different colors from hydrangea blossoms.

I have iron and soda ash as modifiers, and I was especially curious about their effect on the oak galls and walnut. I’ll be trying that next.