Dye Lab Observation

10/31/17 Dye Lab: Wool and Vegetable water

Dye used: Boiled beet water

Wool: Unwashed

When using the unwashed wool just in the plain dye mix, not much dye took to the wool. It was more of a stain then a dye job, majorly patchy.

Dye used: Boiled beet water

Wool: Rinsed off

Same results are the untouched wool, patchy and stained.

Dye used: Boiled beet water

Wool: Washed off by hand

In this one Aalia and I were surprised because STILL the wool appeared to be the same as the rest. Not many changes were visible and all the wool just looked like it has gotten juice spilled on it.

Dye used: Boiled beet water with Alum

Wool: Unwashed, Rinsed and hand washed.

I compiled these observations together because much like the first round not much differentiated each set from the other. How ever the dye got less patchy it still appeared more as a stain and I bet if the wool were to be washed the dye would come right out. It didn’t look or feel as though it had set into the wool at all.

Lastly we had boiled wool so the oils would be taken out and hopefully the dye had a better chance to stick. Aalia and I tested these pieces of wool with the plain dyed water, the dyed water with alum and the dyed water with alum and acid. In each test the results were the same, you could see the dye clinging a little better then the previous tests but nothing like I had originally expected. We didn’t know if it was because the beet water just didn’t hold enough to actually dye anything or if the measurements were off. Ether way it was an interesting experiment to see how the wool acted differently to each of the methods.

 

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