Welcome back to season three of Plants to Dye For! Last year we experimented with some beautiful historical dyes from around the world - madder, cochineal, and logwood.The colors were rich and vibrant shades of red, violet, and purple (see Plants to Dye For (2020): Wrap Up for a recap). This year we're going back to the land, to see what colors the plants on our property might yield. As I mentioned in another article, I'm expecting many shades of brown. But, who knows!
Today I am dyeing with camellia flowers, from shrubs that grow on our residential lot. Several shrubs produce pale pink flowers; and a couple others produce red (or reddish pink) flowers, so I'm doing a batch of each. Research on the web indicates that camellia pigment can produce pale shades of brownish pink, depending on the mordant. The camellia (Camellia japonica) is native to eastern and southern Asia, from the Himalayas east to Japan and Indonesia, but also grows here in the San Francisco Bay Area.
For this project I used basic dye equipment, and a well-ventilated workspace. I used a soaking pot, a dye pot, a heat source, and a candy thermometer to keep the dye bath at a consistent temperature. I also used a strainer and cheese cloth to remove the petals from the dye bath. Supplies included:
For safety, wear a face mask when working with powders, and rubber gloves when working with soda ash, which is caustic.
Outdoor studio
Cotton hankies (large and small), napkins, and dishtowels
The Weight of Fabric for each batch is about 259 grams (9 ounces). I typically dye dish towels, but this year I’m expanding to other cotton items. For each batch I used:
2 dish towels - 154 g (4.9 ounces)
2 napkins - 50 g (1.76 ounces)
2 large hankies - 35 g (1.2 ounces)
2 small hankies - 20 g (.7 ounces)
Batch 1 – Pink Petals (A Bust)
For the first batch, I used pink camellia flowers, and followed instructions from Sara K. in her article, Camellia Dye. I collected about 12 ounces of pale pink camellia flowers from our yard in mid-February. Since the Weight of Fabric was 9 ounces, the WOF% was about 130%. The supplies for the first batch include:
Pink petals: 340 grams pale pink camellia flowers (12 ounces)
Sea salt (2 teaspoons)
1/2 lemon (juice and rind)
A gallon of water (plus)
Prepared cotton fabric
Pink camellias
I followed my typical extraction method. The pale pink petals were lovely and the dye bath was promising. It seemed to indicate that we were on track for a pale brownish pink. I soaked the fabric for about an hour, in the dye bath (I typically soak overnight). I rinsed the fabric thoroughly in cool water, washed, and hung to dry. But, instead of any shade of brownish pink, the fabric remained creamy white. No color at all! I had at least expected a pale tan color, based on the dye bath color.
Pink petals
Simmer until colorless
Extracted dye
Experiments can lead to disappointment. But, like Edison’s 2000-plus light bulb experiments, sometimes you discover what doesn’t work!
Colorless results!
Batch 2 – Red Petals (A Success)
For the second batch, I used red camellia flowers. I reused the previously dyed fabric, which was already prepared, and just washed it in Synthrapol. This time I collected about 28 ounces of camellia flowers. The Weight of Fabric was also 259 grams (9 ounces), so the WOF% was about 300%. I gathered the flowers in our yard throughout March, and froze them to preserve the color. Camellia petals turn brown very quickly, but I included the brown petals anyway, thinking they may still have pigment.
Red camellias (or deep pink)
I also decided to use ferrous sulfate as a modifier. Modifiers change the color of the dye. Ferrous sulfate produces a “grayish” version of a color. We’ll learn more about modifiers at another time. Supplies for the second batch include:
Red petals: 793 grams red camellia flowers (28 ounces)
1/4 - 1 teaspoon ferrous sulfate
1/2 lemon (juice and rind)
A gallon of water
Prepared cotton fabric
Ferrous sulfate crystals (food grade)
Extract the Dye
First, extract the dye, using our basic process:
Add petals and lemon to the dye bath.
Simmer for one hour.
Soak petals.
Strain the petals.
Red camellia petals, with juice and rind from half a lemon
Rinse petals and pull them apart. Add the petals to a gallon of water in a stainless-steel pot. Stir in juice of 1/2 fresh squeezed lemon and the lemon rind. Bring to 180-200 degrees, and simmer for an hour. Soak petals and lemon rind for three days.
Simmer for an hour, then let soak for three days
Strain petals out of dye bath using cheesecloth and a strainer. Return dye bath to the stainless-steel pot. The resulting liquor is pale pink/orange. It smelled like an herbal tea.
Filter out the petals
Red camellia petal liquor
Dye the Fabric
Then, dye the fabric using our basic process:
Add 1/4 - 1 teaspoon ferrous sulfate and wet fabric to dye bath.
Heat dye bath and simmer for an hour.
Soak fabric in the dye bath.
Rinse and hang to dry.
Add fabric to dye bath, heat, and simmer for an hour
Add ferrous sulfate to the dye bath and stir well. Add wet, prepared fabric, and simmer for an hour, keeping the temperature between 180-200 degrees. Stir periodically to make sure dye is distributed as evenly as possible.
Squeeze out fabric
Rinse until water runs clear
Let soak for an hour or overnight. Since I love saturated color, I let it soak for three days this time. Squeeze out excess dye from the dish towels. Rinse the dish towels in cool water until the water runs clear. Run the dish towels through the washing machine rinse and spin cycles, using cold water. Let the towels air dry. Two weeks later, wash the towels in pH neutral soap, like Synthrapol, and hang to dry.
Hang fabric to dry
Grayish brown with hints of pale lilac
The resulting color is a soft grayish brown, with hints of pale lilac in some light. After reading How to Use Iron Powder below, I'm curious, whether the red camellia pigment contributes any color at all, or does the color result from the mix of tannin mordant (oak gallnut) and ferrous sulfate.
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