Monday, April 1, 2013

Boiling

I found an old ugly pot at the second hand store for three dollars. I could probably use one of my kitchen pots, since I only dye with plant materials that are not poisonous, as far as I know, but just in case I come across some stuff that is either super messy or stains a lot, it is good to have a dedicated pot.



There were still some Sorrell calyxes left in my refrigerator, so I decided to see what happened when I boiled them with some fabric. I am getting a little more scientific, perhaps, so now I am using pieces of silk, cotton, linen and hemp. I plan to do this for each experiment. Then I will be able to compare which fiber absorbs the different dyes best.

This is what I was boiling:



Here it is with the fabric pieces


I let is simmer for several hours and added water a couple of times. It got pretty mushy.
Here are the results


The fabrics are, clockwise from top left: cotton, hemp, linen, and silk. The silk piece is the most successful, in my view. It seems to have absorbed color the best.

The next step is to soak them in a mordant.
I am planning to use a version of the mordant assessment procedure described in India Flint's book (p 103). My experiments are less scientific, both because I am mostly playing at this point and also by necessity, since I don't have a proper studio here. It's just the spare guest room and the kitchen.

Here is the guest room, full of my projects


I will put in a picture of the kitchen another day, when it's not so messy!

1 comment:

  1. Hi Maria- Finally back to visit and read all your entries/experiments so far. You've been busy! Your "scientific" approach reminds me of what I did with the Conant Grant. It does have to get a bit scientific as you will want to be able to repeat something if it really works out. So all your photos and notes are a great thing. I'm going to put your blog onto my list of favorites so I can see when you post something new (may also bring some other folks over to see what's cooking!).--Julie

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