Making Natural Dyes - DoESLiverpool/somebody-should GitHub Wiki

The Wearable Tech Group are going to start looking at making our own plant / natural dyes.

Here's some useful links, hints and tips, followed by a list of our own experiments.

Useful links

Hints and Tips

List of Mordants & Fixatives

"Basically, natural dyes will not adhere to natural fibres without the use of a mordant or fixative. Whilst you may initially get a beautiful result from the dyeing, it will soon wash out or fade away!

Protein fibres like silk and wool absolutely need a plant extract (dye) and a mineral mordant. So, if you are looking to dye some yarn to eventually produce a garment that will wash well you must learn a little about mordants!

Cottons and linens or other plant based textiles need a fixative to help set the dye, so that your wonderful creation does not lose color quickly." From all natural dyeing

Fixatives

  • Salt – Use salt as a fixative for cotton fabrics, thread or yarns. As a general rule you should use 1 part salt to 16 parts water. Place your dyeing medium into the salted water and simmer for about an hour to allow maximum absorption. Gently squeeze the salted water from your dyeing medium and then – whilst still wet – immerse the item into the dye bath.
  • Tannins – Tannins occur naturally in some plants, which eliminates the need for other fixatives. These plants are indicated by an “**” mark in the colors page.
  • Vinegar – 1 part vinegar to 4 parts water. Use as per salt above.
  • Baking Soda – 1/2 cup baking soda to 1 gallon water. Simmer.
  • Tara Powder – ?
  • Cream of Tartar – Cream of Tartar is often used with an alum mordant to produce a clearer color in the final dyed product
  • Washing Soda – ?

Experiments by Members of the Wearable Tech Group

Jackie - Onion skins on a fine woven cotton top (15/04/20)

I collected onion skins and simmered them in water for a few hours, then sieved and used the resulting liquid to dye an old white top.

Onion skins collected over several weeks:

Onion skin liquor after being simmered for several hours and then sieved:

Top after being simmered with the onion skin liquor, then washed on a gentle program with a cup of salt and non-bio detergent:

Louisa - Avo dye on woven cotton calico (take 1, 10/05/20)

Note: Avo skins and pits are high in tannins and therefore a mordant isn't required when dying animal proteins (wool/silk) however when dying cotton it may be difficult to achieve deeper shades without the use of an additional mordant (such as a soya milk pre-treatment).

Dye liquor: 5 whole pits and crushed skins (4 of which had been dried then frozen, 1 fresh and organic) brought to the boil and left just below a simmer w. 3 litres of water for ~2hrs

Substrate (~1m^2): Cotton calico had previously been washed on a full cycle with non-bio (30degC) and was then covered in boiling water while liquor was brewing. It was lukewarm by the time the dye was ready.

The cotton was drained and left damp immediately before the hot dye liquor was strained and poured over the fabric. Fabric agitated for ~10mins and left to steep for 7-8 hrs with agitation every hr or so. Once pulled it was immediately rinsed by hand using cool water and mild detergent until water ran clear.

Colour of dye liquor after 2hrs:

Straight after being pulled from the bath:

After cool rinse using mild detergent:

Once dried next to undyed cotton:

Jackie - Turmeric on woven cotton calico (12/05/20)

I pre-treated bleached cotton calico fabric by soaking it overnight in a dilute solution of soya milk and drying it in the sun.

I simmered around 2 cups of turmeric powder in water for around 4 hours.

I then ironed the cotton calico fabric in various patterns and secured it with wide elastic bands before simmering it in the dye liquor for around an hour. After rinsing the fabric parcels under a tap, I removed the elastic bands, then washed the fabric on a gentle program with non-bio detergent and salt.

Simmering turmeric:

Simmering cloth parcels:

Different tie-dye patterns achieved:

I left a plain piece of fabric in the dye liquor for a longer period of time and got a much darker effect. I'm going to leave this piece in the sun to see how fast the dye fades: