Dyes: Batch 1 Modifiers

Let’s get weird!

I did the first batch with unmodified dye baths and tap water. Since I am doing mini baths in quarter pint jars, I have plenty of pigment to keep working with.

I first used iron water, which was simply made by soaking a rusty nail in a container of water for a few weeks. Yum. I added roughly a quarter teaspoon to each jar, which was way more than enough. I left the fibers in the mini baths for about three hours.

I separately used soda ash, following the same process. The amount of time each fiber scrap spent in the bath is relatively variable - I just wanted to get a rough idea of the modifier effects here. The fibers spent at least 2 hours in the dye bath, except some sumac samples.

staghorn sumac

I’m not surprised that sumac could have a wide range of results, but I wasn’t prepared for how wide the range is! Sumac starts at a lovely pink but can transform all the way from a stormy purple to a light green. The amount of modifier added to the water dramatically affects how rich the colors are. I’m guessing that these samples are very volatile and would not hold up against the elements, but it’s a fun chemistry experiment.

Oak Galls

I love the effects on the oak gall samples. It raises so many questions about if different oak galls respond differently to various conditions. I’d love to experiment with this more!

Black Walnut

Walnut was naturally rich and gorgeous across all samples. It’s no wonder people love working with this dye material. The animal fibers gobble it up.

mulberry bark

Subtle changes here. I’m guessing that bark needs more time to soak before dyeing effectively. I’d like to try bark that has been sitting in water for days instead of hours.

mulberry leaves

The mulberry leaves had a nice effect that was in line with the trends that I expected. The soda ash fabric was quite a bit lighter than the unmodified result. This could have been because of inconsistencies in how long they were in the bath- I did not measure time precisely.