How to dye with natural dyes
Hibiscus Rosa -Sinensis
How to dye with natural dyes. Hibiscus Rosa Sinensis Irene Caretti 2019 Illustration by Irene Caretti Text fragments by Cecilia Raspanti, Irene Caretti, Wild Colors by Jenny Dean Produced for Fabricademy ďŹ nal project 2018-19
Index Tools and safety
1
Hibiscus Rosa-sinensis
2
History of natural dyes
3
How to dye
4
Scouring & Mordanting
5
Dyeing & Rinsing
6
PH changing
7
Furoshiki
Hibiscus
Latex Gloves
Botanical print
ModiďŹ ers box
Instruction book
Mordants
& PH strips
Materials, tools and safety considerations PROVIDED MATERIALS
EXTRA TOOLS NEEDED
- Furoshiki
- 3 Cooking pots aprox. 6-9 liters
- Yarns
- Mixing spoons
- Fabric Samples
- Water
- Dried Hibiscus - Mordants (Alum, Iron, Copper) - ModiďŹ ers (Soda, Citric Acid) - PH strips - Latex Gloves (2 pairs) - Printed Instruction Book - QR code to download - Modern botanical plant print
For safety reason don’t use the same pot used for food. Always be careful when handling alum, copper or iron liquor and other mordanting or scouring material. Wearing gloves and a lab coat is safer if you are not used to working with natural dyes.
1
Hibiscus Rosa -Sinensis Hibiscus
rosa-sinensis,
known
colloquially
as
Chinese
hibiscus, China rose, Hawaiian hibiscus, rose mallow and shoeblackplant, is a species of tropical hibiscus, a flowering plant in the Hibisceae tribe of the family Malvaceae, native to East Asia.
Hibiscus
rosa-sinensis
was
named
in
1753
by
Carl Linnaeus in his Species Plantarum. The Latin term rosa-sinensis literally means "rose of China", though it is not closely related to the true roses.
The flowers of Hibiscus rosa-sinensis are edible and are used in salads in the Pacific Islands. In several countries the flowers are dried to use in a beverage, usually tea. The flower is additionally used in hair care as a decoration. It is also used to shine shoes in certain parts of India. It can be used as a pH indicator.
2
History of natural dyes The art of dyeing is as old as human civilisation. The earliest written record of the use of natural dyes was found in China dated 2600BC. Chemical tests of red fabrics found in the tomb of King Tutankhamen in Egypt show the presence of alizarin, a pigment extracted from madder. Kermes (from the Kermes insect) is identiďŹ ed in the bible book of Exodus, where references are made to scarlet colored linen.. In his Natural History Pliny tells of the dye-works founded by King Juba of Mauretania about 40 B.C. in the Canary Islan
Start of 16th century was the time when France, Holland and Germany began the cultivation of dye plants as an industry. Natural dyes were used for colouring of textiles till the 19th century when synthetic dyes pushed them out.
Natural dyes can be sorted into three categories: - natural dyes obtained from plants (hibiscus) - those obtained from animals (cochineal) - those obtained from minerals (ocher).
In 1856 William Henry Perkin, , while attempting to synthesize quinine as a cure for malaria, discovered the ďŹ rst synthetic dye which he called "Mauve". The advent of synthetic dyes and their immediate acceptability throughout the world due to wide range of colors and good color fastness properties resulted in the limited use of natural dyeing.
3
How to dye 1. Scour the fibers. Divide the animal fibers from the vegetable ones. Remeber to also scour the furoshiki according to the right type of fiber (as explained in page 5).
2. Divide the fibers into three groups. Group A. Alum Group B. Iron Group C. Copper Each group must have: - 1 wool yarn, 1 cotton yarn, 1 linem yarn, 1 jute yarn, 1 algae yarn - 1 cotton canvas fabric, 1 elastic cotton fabric
3. Mordant the fibers. For each group use a different mordant (A. Allum; B. Iron; C. Copper). The furohishi must be included in the alum grup.
4. Prepare the dye bath (as explained in page 6). 5. Change the PH of the dye bath to change the color. 6. Rinse the fabrics and the yarn with netrual PH water. 7. Let everything dry 8. Love, share, enjoy your results! N.B. The amount mordants and dried hibiscus is calculated for this amount of fibers. Do not add additional fibers or the result will be incorrect. 4
Scouring the fibers ANIMAL FIBERS
VEGETABLE FIBERS
Wash the fibers gently with lukewarm water and a
Boil the fibers for an hour in water and sodium
little bit of soap.
carbonate ±2 tbsp for 4 liters of water.
Keep in mind that too much friction and heat will damage the fibers.
This process will remove the oil and waxes that are naturally presentin the fibers.
Mordanting A mordant is a substance used to set and dyes on fabrics. For some dye baths the mordant changes the final color of the fibers.
Alum helps with brightening the colours and assures a good light and wash fastness. Iron helps darkening and saddening the colors, it increases the color wash and light fastness a lot. Copper helps darkening and saddening the colors, providing shades which are otherwise very difficult to obtain. While saddening the colors, it brings out greens and blues. It is a good additive for any dyeing bath of those colors, but also for any dyeing bath which aim is to add a subtle blue hue to any other specific color.
5
Preparing the dye bath - 1 bag of Hibiscus dried flowers for bright fuchsias. - 1/2 bag of Hibiscus dried flowers for pinks and lilacs.
How to die with hibiscus EXTRACTING THE COLOR
MODIFYING THE COLOR
To extract the dye color: pour boiling
Hibiscus can produce more than 25 distinct shades,
water over the flowers, then simmer
ranging from pinks, to purples to blue and soft greens!
them for half an hour. Strain off the
Both mordants and modifiers work a great deal with
dye liquid or leave the flowers in the
Hibiscus dried flowers.
dye bath.
Simmer the fibers in the dye liquid for
Measure the PH of the water.
about 45 minutes then leave them
Rinse the fabric with lukewarm water PH neutral
to soak in the dye bath overnight
(or the color will change).
and longer for really deep shades.
6
Rinsing the fibers
Hibiscus + Soda***
Hibiscus + Acid Citric *
Hibiscus + Soda **
Hibiscus + Acid Citric **
Hibiscus
Hibiscus Soda****
Hibiscus + Soda *
Hibiscus + Soda*****
PH changing
7