INTRODUCTION
For this project we were asked to naturally dye wool/muslin fabric (I only dyed the fabric) and experiment with different setting agents. The dye stuff I choose was a bunch of deep magenta wildflowers my roommate was going to throw away after they dried out. I’m proud to say I spent no money on this project.
PROCESS
I began by boiling these flowers for exactly 25min. While they boiled I separated my fabric samples in to the categories: negative control (unwashed/undyed), positive control 1 (unwashed/dyed), positive control 2 (water wash/dyed), experiment A (soap wash/dyed) set with soda ash, experiment B (soap wash/dyed) set with Tartar, experiment c (soap wash/dyed) set with Alum, and experiment D (soap wash/dyed) set with Iron (plus the small piece of canvas I just wanted to dye to see how it would take the color).
After boiling and simmering for the 25 min I turned off the stove and placed the 6 strips in to the pan to dye for the same time and the same heat. I placed the them separately as to keep track of how each strip was prepared. They dyed for 20 min.
As they dyed I began to set up 2/4 of the setting chemicals. (A) was Soda Ash which I measured at pH 11, (B) was Tartar at pH 2.
After the strips were finished I laid them out on a bag to rest while I set them. (A) and (B) were placed inside the setting agent and set for exactly 3omin, and then where rinsed and put to dry.
I then vigorously washed the bowls and prepared the Alum and Iron mixtures. (C) was Alum which I measured at pH 3, (D) was Iron at pH 5. I placed the strips inside the bowls and waited another 30min. After the time was up I rinsed them and set them aside to dry.
These were my results:
As they dried I created the card with all the information for their display, including some notes about each small sample:
PART 2
For the shibori dye I created two lose twists at the two ends of the fabric and tied it with two rubber bands. I let the flowers further soak overnight, reboiled them, and then placed the twisted fabric in for 40 min. I then combined Alum and Iron (pH 3) and set that for 30 min. I let the piece dry for 20 min and the opened, rinsed, and set to dry. (I forgot to take a picture of the ties before dyeing, but you can see what the tied are on the 3rd image).
