Dyes: General Process TL,DR

I have dueling impulses of being detail-oriented vs. FA,FO. I’m trying to write down all of the steps that I’m taking, but I don’t want that to bog me down from exploration. I’m very new to this, so don’t mistake my experiments for expertise! When I am working with new creative materials, I just find that making a simple bulletpoint to-do list helps me avoid getting overwhelmed by details.

Mulberry bark, sumac, mulberry leaves, walnut, and oak galls

Here’s the short version of what I’m doing, clumsily referencing Botanical Colors’ blog posts:

• It’s usually mandatory to mordant any plant (cellulose) fibers. Mordanting animal fibers is optional, but usually redundant.

  • First bath:

    • Warm a half-filled stock pot with tap water, dissolve 5-10% WOF (weight of fabric) of aluminum acetate, then add the fabric for 1-2 hours. Bath can be used up to 3 times. The exhausted water can be disposed of in sink when done.

  • Two options for the second bath:

    • 5% WOF of dissolved calcium carbonate (found at home brew supplies stores) with fabric in warm water for 30 minutes

    • OR 5% WOF of wheat bran. Ideally: put wheat bran in cheesecloth, steep in warm water for 30 minutes. Add bran water and bran bundle to enough warm water to cover the fabric. Steep for 30 minutes and gently rinse away bran matter before dyeing

  • The premordanted fabric can be air dried, then stored in a cool place out of the sun

• Prep the dye

  • Fill container with 5-10% WOF dye material and water. The material of the container matters:

    • Glass jars work great for small projects

    • Steel and enamel pots are nonreactive, and they will not effect the water

    • Aluminum, copper, tin, and iron containers will all effect the water in different ways

  • Heat on stove, then steep as long as you can be patient (an hour might be enough, overnight is great, but some can steep for weeks!)

  • Strain out the dye material for an even dye, or keep it in for a stronger dye

• Dye!

  • Add the fibers to the dye bath and bring to just below a consistent simmer. Do not boil

  • Gently mix the materials around so that the fabric doesn’t fall to the bottom and burn

  • Steep for 1 minute to several weeks, depending on material and dye type

    • For darkest colors you can steep for as long as you can be patient. The materials can begin to decompose, which may or may not be desirable.

In order to try out different dyes simultaneously, I’m using a double-boiler method. This way I can steep small jars of multiple dyes in the same stockpot, producing five samples at a time. This also entirely prevents the fabric from scalding by touching the hot metal pot.