A few weeks ago I tried a new solar dyeing project, using the bracts that I collected from a Poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima) last Christmas. The plant was a gift from our gardener, Mr. Nygren, and was an especially vibrant red color. The growers' label described that the Aztecs used poinsettia bracts to create a pink-purple dye. I collected the bracts as they fell off the plant and let them air dry.
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| Solar dyeing with Poinsettia bracts - salt mordant (day 14) |
I used a single dish towel (WOF is 2.7 ounces/77 grams) that had been scoured, mordanted with salt, brightened with ammonia, and previously dyed with cabbage (see Dye Project: Red Cabbage). I collected .7 ounces/20 grams of dried bracts, so the WOF% was 26%. Dyers typically recommend equal weight of fabric and plant material when solar dyeing, but I compensated with time (two weeks) to extract as much color as possible. I added 2 teaspoons of alum to the dye bath.
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| The results - a surprising greenish gray |
The result is a surprising greenish-gray color (the photos don't capture it well), and certainly not a pinkish-purply color! Perhaps I'll try again next year with the next holiday Poinsettia bracts, and possibly a different mordant. Experimentation is part of the fun of dyeing with plants!
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