Eco-Dyeing Update: Pokeberries
At the end of a recent walk in the nature preserve, I noticed a pile of cut weeds along the path. It was mostly a mess of gnarly vines and shaggy tendrils, but there were pokeberries in the pile, too. Not wanting to let them all go to waste, I grabbed a handful to take home for eco dyeing.
You may remember that I've been a little disappointed that the lovely pink color that appears after dyeing with rose petals never stays (though the remaining mottled browns are nice). I've read that most eco-dyers have success creating pinks with staying power by using pokeberry. I thought I would give it a try.
I chose two sections of Dye-licious naturally pre-mordanted fabric for my experiment. The fabric directions indicate that the fabric should be washed and rinsed before starting, so one section was quickly washed, rinsed, and wrung out before beginning.
For comparison, I took the other section straight from the packaging and placed the pokeberry onto it directly, using vinegar to dampen the cloth -- though the fabric directions explicitly state that vinegar is not necessary.
I secured the bundles with rubber bands. These went directly over the dye pot to be steamed for an hour. I poked two skewers through the rubber bands so the bundles would be suspended over the steam like a rotisserie.
After steaming on the stove, I set the pot outside to let the bundles batch in the warm sun,
and then let the process continue in the garage. (I didn't want the pot accidentally knocked over by a curious dog or raccoon in the dark.) My goal was to let the color soak in for at least 24 hours.
A day later I unwrapped the bundles and found this glorious fuchsia color. I don't have any screens to set cloth on so my two pieces relaxed on the grass, held fast by rocks I've unearthed in the garden.
The color deserves a close-up. The color hasn't been enhanced in any way; isn't it gorgeous?
As much as I didn't want to, I knew I had to rinse the fabrics. I prepared myself to say goodbye to the saturated color, but discovered this lovely delicate mauve-ish color stayed in its place after rinsing. I think the color is a little richer than you see here, but hopefully you get a sense of the results.
I'm pleased to have successfully dyed a colorfast pink. The section of fabric that I washed and rinsed first did slightly better than the one on which I only used vinegar. I'm curious if the color would change significantly with a modifier, but that will have to wait until next year. I don't have pokeberry in my garden and most of it has died in the fields. Something to look forward to...
You may remember that I've been a little disappointed that the lovely pink color that appears after dyeing with rose petals never stays (though the remaining mottled browns are nice). I've read that most eco-dyers have success creating pinks with staying power by using pokeberry. I thought I would give it a try.
I chose two sections of Dye-licious naturally pre-mordanted fabric for my experiment. The fabric directions indicate that the fabric should be washed and rinsed before starting, so one section was quickly washed, rinsed, and wrung out before beginning.
For comparison, I took the other section straight from the packaging and placed the pokeberry onto it directly, using vinegar to dampen the cloth -- though the fabric directions explicitly state that vinegar is not necessary.
I secured the bundles with rubber bands. These went directly over the dye pot to be steamed for an hour. I poked two skewers through the rubber bands so the bundles would be suspended over the steam like a rotisserie.
After steaming on the stove, I set the pot outside to let the bundles batch in the warm sun,
and then let the process continue in the garage. (I didn't want the pot accidentally knocked over by a curious dog or raccoon in the dark.) My goal was to let the color soak in for at least 24 hours.
A day later I unwrapped the bundles and found this glorious fuchsia color. I don't have any screens to set cloth on so my two pieces relaxed on the grass, held fast by rocks I've unearthed in the garden.
The color deserves a close-up. The color hasn't been enhanced in any way; isn't it gorgeous?
As much as I didn't want to, I knew I had to rinse the fabrics. I prepared myself to say goodbye to the saturated color, but discovered this lovely delicate mauve-ish color stayed in its place after rinsing. I think the color is a little richer than you see here, but hopefully you get a sense of the results.
I'm pleased to have successfully dyed a colorfast pink. The section of fabric that I washed and rinsed first did slightly better than the one on which I only used vinegar. I'm curious if the color would change significantly with a modifier, but that will have to wait until next year. I don't have pokeberry in my garden and most of it has died in the fields. Something to look forward to...
Comments