Excellent dye

[vaneramos]

Last weekend djjo and I tried two more dyes from natural materials obtained locally. One of these experiments produced our most exciting results so far.

First we used black locust pods, gathered on Queen Street Hill in Guelph, with tin mordant. This produced a light tan colour, nice but unremarkable.

Next we used mountain ash leaves cut from a small tree that leans over the cottage (I spent a little while on the roof with pruning shears). Nancy J. McGuffin's Dye Plants of Ontario promised "a rich golden copper" from copper mordant and an ammonia rinse, and that's what we obtained. After the first bath there was still plenty of colour in the water, so we added more mordant and dyed a second batch of fibre. Surprisingly, this produced just as strong colours.

The results with silk and silk/wool were especially exciting. Unfortunately the photos don't do them justice.

Shown first are three skeins of Fabel superwash (nylon/wool), for comparison: first the black locust (top), then the mountain ash first bath, and mountain ash second bath. The second photo shows everything we dyed, but I'm too lazy to go into a thorough description.

I'm so excited about the mountain ash that I would like to use it to dye enough yarn to make a sweater someday.

Comments

[fuzzed.livejournal.com]

Gorgeous colors. These would work up nicely in whatever you decide to use them for.

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[bitterlawngnome.livejournal.com]

Danny and I were talking about the locust pods, and I think the ones you got had probably had most of the juice leached out of them by the time you gathered them, I'll get you some fresh ones when they ripen sorta august-ish.

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

Bill, that would be excellent! I don't know the cycle of this tree, except that I had seen one flowering elsewhere in the city a few weeks ago. So I expected to find fresh pods. But it didn't look like the trees I picked from had flowered at all this year. I wonder if they bloom in alternate years. At any rate, these turned out to be last year's pods. So I would like to try again with fresh ones.

[bitterlawngnome.livejournal.com]

They are like fruit trees, they have off years, and a lot depends on the pollinators.

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

BTW, I plan to hit the TOAE near the end of the day on Sunday. Let me know if I can help with take-down and/or transport.

[missprune.livejournal.com]

That is lovely ideed. I used to want to get into dyeing as I loved to work with yarns for needleweaving. Never did get it together, but you are inspiring. I should post a photo of my favorite needleweaving for you to admire.

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

Yes, I would like to see that!

[crazysoph.livejournal.com]

I'm whimpering quietly over here because I've really, really had no time recently for spinning, but I so want to mail you some linen/silk/cotton/wool (or combinations thereof) yarns for inclusion in your dye baths.

Crazy(and whimpering)Soph


PS *do* enjoy them, okay? When I'm a bit more awake (it's way late here at the moment) I should hunt up a link to dying with madder that dear_hubby sent me ages back. It would be right up your alley now, I think.

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

djjo and

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<user site="livejournal.com" user="djjo"> and <lj="marian_w"> have both used madder in dyeing workshops, so I should be able to learn the technique from one of them. Meanwhile, do let me know when you have something to send and we'll arrange it!