Wool Dye Lab

Urban Dyer’s Almanac Dye Worksheet

Plant collected: Beets
Date collected: 3.01.19
Part of plant used and amount: Entire Beet Root, 150 grams of beet

Extraction process notes: I washed the beet and then, using a knife and cutting board, diced it up into small pieces. My thinking was, if the beets were in smaller pieces, more pigment could secrete out in a easier and faster way.

Dye Recipe:

Material / WOF (Weight of Fiber): 31 grams of wool

Dye / Volume: 40 ounces of dye (water dyed by beets)
Mordant / Amount: 4.65 grams of Dry Alum

Assistant/ Amount:

Cream of Tar Tar: 5 grams

Soda Ash: 5 grams

Recipe notes:

I began with 40 ounces of water to make sure I had enough to fully immerse the wool in. I then added 150 grams of diced beets to the water and heated it up, just before a boil. I let the beets stew in the water until they looked drained of their pigment and the water was a rich red color. I then set that aside, and followed the instructions to wash and prepare the wool. In a new pot with another 40 ounces of water, I added the mordant (4.65 grams of dry alum) and out it on the hot plate. Once I noticed that the mordant dissolved, I added the wool to the pot. I let it sit until it was about to boil, then removed it. I strained the wool and set it aside. I divvied up the dye into three separate pots, about 13 ounces of dyed water per pot. One pot was left alone, 5 grams of cream of tar tar was added to another pot, and 5 grams of soda ash was added to the next pot. The soda ash immediately darkened the color of the water. Once the assistants were added, I tested the pH of each pot. I then divvied up the wool into three sections and placed one piece in each dye pot, and put them to heat up to 180 degrees on the hot plates. Once they were done, I strained each piece of wool, washed them until the water ran clear, and then dried them with a hair drier.

Experiment Reflections - What do you think?

RESULTS / INTERPRETATIONS

1. Did the work come out as expected (or as you hypothesized)?

The work did not come out exactly how I expected. I was absent from class one day where the students were informed beets were not good to use as dye, and I was told that after I had completed my experiment and was wondering why my wool was not very pigmented. I had chosen beets because beets usually give off a rich red pigment, and I thought it would give the wool a nice pink hue. Instead, the pot with no assistant, and the one with cream of tar tar came out tinted yellow. The soda ash one came out a dull grey color.
2. Did your plants create the colors you expected?

No. I used beets expecting them to create a rich red or pink dye. Instead the wool became a yellow color.
3. Which plants created the greatest variety of colors through pH manipulation?

I noticed that the greater pH manipulation came from the addition of assistants. The pots with no assistants did not change the colors on the pH strip, while the soda ash and cream of tar tar altered them. The cream of tar tar turned the colors into pinks, oranges, and yellows. The soda ash made the colors into cooler blues and purples.

RESULTS / INTERPRETATIONS

1. What new questions do you have?

What plants are better to use as pigments? Would the pigment come out richer if I used a different ratio of plant:water. Would adding a higher volume of the plant make the dye more saturated?
2. What would you do differently next time?

I would use a different plant.
3. What types of products could you apply the colors you created to?

I think it could work well in making yellow dye for pure white clothing items. The dye was not opaque and all the different tints of the wool shined through, so having a solid white material would probably come out better.
4. What other systems connect to the natural dye process? For example: Food? Manufacturing? Explain how they are related and how healthy ecologies can be fostered within these systems.

I think pretty much any system that requires changing the color of their products can use the natural dye process. The whole process of creating paints and dyes can be pretty harmful, so using natural alternatives can make a lot of systems more sustainable. Particularly the fashion industry. I think this can go hand in hand with composting. Maybe composted fruits, vegetables, and other natural materials could be cleaned and composted to create natural dyes.

5. How might the development and use of natural dyes create interdependencies in supply chains?

Fruits, vegetables, and other natural sources are not difficult to obtain. Maybe if more supply chains learned how to efficiently use natural dyes, that could become their main form of dyeing their products. If a class of college freshmen can figure out the natural hot dye process by following directions, I’m sure a huge corporation with lots of funds and accessibility can. This could help them become independent by not needing to use other companies dyes.

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