Sunday 26 February 2017
Friday 24 February 2017
Imbolc Scarf
I used up some of the yarn left over from my Imbolc weaving to make this scarf on my Ashford Knitter's loom. It makes a good contrast with the more formal weaving that I made earlier in the month.
Julienne's Method
I thought I'd give an update on my dyeing method, as it is a while since I talked about it. I use the same process every time I dye, so that I can directly compare the colours I obtain. This is important, as the woven pieces I produce will be exhibited later in the year and I need to explain to the visitors how I produced my cloth. So here goes.
The skeins I use were supplied by Chester Yarns. They are 20 gram skeins of fingering weight, 4 ply (4 x 2/20) worsted spun, merino wool. Each skein is about 49 metres long. They each give me 8 ends of a five metre warp, with some extra to play with. That makes the maths easy!
I only use plants growing in my village, Loughton, in the new town of Milton Keynes, hence the title of my blog. However, this definition includes both true British natives and introduced plants, which the village's gardens are full of as it has been here since the Doomsday Survey. I've also allowed myself to dye plants that I am growing in my own 'dyer's garden', as a traditional dyer would surely extend her range of browns by growing some well known dyestuffs.
Depending on the specific plant, I gather everything from the plant that can be used to produce dye, including roots, bark, twigs and stems, leaves, flowers and fruits, berries, seeds and nuts. The colours differ according to the soil, time of year, how the plant has been grown and so on. It is all very improvisational and exciting. I suspect I will never get exactly the same shade twice, which is great for me but must have been frustrating when the woollen industry began to mass produce artefacts.
I extract dye from roots, twigs, bark, hard seeds and nuts in my dedicated slow cooker. I use at least 100 grams of plant material to dye 80 grams (four skeins) of wool, or a little more plant material if I can get it so that the dye is concentrated. I add 4 litres of water to the pot, chop the hard plant material into small pieces and heat the pot on a low setting for three days before I pour off the liquor and throw the exhausted plant stuff into my recycling bin.
I extract dye from the softer materials like leaves, flowers and berries by adding about 100 grams of them to 4 litres of water in my dye pot, bringing the liquor up to simmering point for about an hour, then taking the pot off the heat and letting it cool naturally, before straining off all the plant material through a colander, sieve or nylon stocking to leave the clear dye.
I use alum and copper as pre-mordants. When I put my recipes on the blog earlier in the year, I gave the quantities for five skeins at a time. Here they are again. This is a separate process to dyeing the wool. The wool from Chester Yarns has to be un-skeined, tied at four places to stop the loose skein from tangling, and washed in a mild detergent, then rinsed, to remove any manufacturing chemicals.
To dye my skeins, I take the dye I've extracted from my slow cooker or dye pot and put it on the stove in a big, shallow dye pan/bath. This is a little less than the 4 litres I stared with as some liquid is lost during the extraction process, but it is enough to cover four skeins of wool. If you remember, three of these were pre-mordanted with alum and one with copper. The dye bath is brought up to simmering point and the wool sits in the bath for half an hour. Make sure all the wool is covered. I don't let the liquor boil at any point as I've read that this will spoil the colours, let alone the wool.
After half an hour, I extract 5 x 60 ml. ladles of liquid from the large dye bath, and put it in a small pan. I add boiling water to a pinch of iron (an assistant or modifier rather than a true mordant) in a small dish, stir, add the iron to the pan and watch the dye 'sadden' or dull. Then I extract an alum mordanted skein from the larger dye bath and pop it in the pan, which is then brought up to simmering point for another half hour.
At the same time, I extract 5 x 60 ml. ladles of liquid from the bath, and put them in another small pan. I add boiling water to a pinch of tin (another well known assistant) in another small dish, stir, add the tin to my second pan and watch the dye 'gladden' or take on a pale, whitish tinge. Then I extract another of my alum mordanted skeins from the original large dye bath and pop it in this pan, which is then brought up to simmering point for another half hour.
The remaining alum and copper mordanted skeins in the big dye bath are put back on the stove, also for another half hour, in the reduced liquid, which is just enough to still cover them. At this point I remove all three pans from the heat and let them cool naturally. Before I take the skeins out of the pans, I mark the alum mordanted skein and the tin assisted skein with coloured wool markers, so that I can tell which is which if the shades turn out to be very similar. The iron assisted skein is usually quite different in colour, so I don't normally need to mark it!
Once they are cool, I wash and rinse the skeins carefully until they are clean and all the chemicals and dye have been removed. This is probably the most laborious bit of the whole process. I can now understand why traditional dye works were located by fast flowing, reliable streams. I remove excess water with a salad spinner (!) and hang the skeins up to dry overnight. If I've been gentle, the yarn has not tanged during this whole process.
The following day I can re-skein my batch of four wools and see what colours I've obtained. These are often quite subtle, sometimes very surprising. It is quite alchemical and such good fun. I'm addicted!
The skeins I use were supplied by Chester Yarns. They are 20 gram skeins of fingering weight, 4 ply (4 x 2/20) worsted spun, merino wool. Each skein is about 49 metres long. They each give me 8 ends of a five metre warp, with some extra to play with. That makes the maths easy!
I only use plants growing in my village, Loughton, in the new town of Milton Keynes, hence the title of my blog. However, this definition includes both true British natives and introduced plants, which the village's gardens are full of as it has been here since the Doomsday Survey. I've also allowed myself to dye plants that I am growing in my own 'dyer's garden', as a traditional dyer would surely extend her range of browns by growing some well known dyestuffs.
Depending on the specific plant, I gather everything from the plant that can be used to produce dye, including roots, bark, twigs and stems, leaves, flowers and fruits, berries, seeds and nuts. The colours differ according to the soil, time of year, how the plant has been grown and so on. It is all very improvisational and exciting. I suspect I will never get exactly the same shade twice, which is great for me but must have been frustrating when the woollen industry began to mass produce artefacts.
I extract dye from roots, twigs, bark, hard seeds and nuts in my dedicated slow cooker. I use at least 100 grams of plant material to dye 80 grams (four skeins) of wool, or a little more plant material if I can get it so that the dye is concentrated. I add 4 litres of water to the pot, chop the hard plant material into small pieces and heat the pot on a low setting for three days before I pour off the liquor and throw the exhausted plant stuff into my recycling bin.
I extract dye from the softer materials like leaves, flowers and berries by adding about 100 grams of them to 4 litres of water in my dye pot, bringing the liquor up to simmering point for about an hour, then taking the pot off the heat and letting it cool naturally, before straining off all the plant material through a colander, sieve or nylon stocking to leave the clear dye.
I use alum and copper as pre-mordants. When I put my recipes on the blog earlier in the year, I gave the quantities for five skeins at a time. Here they are again. This is a separate process to dyeing the wool. The wool from Chester Yarns has to be un-skeined, tied at four places to stop the loose skein from tangling, and washed in a mild detergent, then rinsed, to remove any manufacturing chemicals.
Recipe for Alum Mordant
Sufficient to mordant 5 x 20 gram skeins (i.e 100 grams, dry weight) of wool. The wool should be wetted thoroughly before it is mordanted so that the mordant will take evenly.
- 8 grams of alum dissolved in a small amount of boiling water in a jug
- 7 grams cream of tartar dissolved in a small amount of boiling water in a jug
- 100 grams (dry weight) of wool, already prepared to receive a mordant by having been tied loosely into a skein and washed in warm water containing a few drops of wool-friendly detergent to remove any dirt, grease or chemical residue from industrial processing
- 4 litres of cool water in a stock pot
Add first the dissolved cream of tartar and then the dissolved alum to the mordant bath and stir. Add the wetted wool and bring the bath up to simmering point. Simmer for one hour, agitating gently from time to time. Switch off the heat and leave the bath to cool overnight. Remove the skeins of wool from the cool mordant bath, rinse them and hang them up to dry or use them immediately in a dye bath.
Recipe for Copper Mordant
Sufficient to mordant 5 x 20 gram skeins (i.e 100 grams, dry weight) of wool. The wool should be wetted thoroughly before it is mordanted so that the mordant will take evenly.
- 2 grams of copper sulphate dissolved in boiling water in a jug
- 40 millilitres of vinegar
- 100 grams (dry weight) of wool, already prepared to receive a mordant by having been tied loosely into a skein and washed in warm water containing a few drops of wool-friendly detergent to remove any dirt, grease or chemical residue from industrial processing
- 4 litres of cool water in a stock pot
Add the coper sulphate solution and then the vinegar to the mordant bath. Stir well. Add the wetted wool and bring the bath up to simmering point. Simmer for one hour, agitating gently from time to time. By this point, the wool should be pale green and the water virtually clear. Switch off the heat and leave the skeins of wool to cool overnight. Remove the skeins, rinse them and either hang them to dry or use them in a dye bath at once.
If you try this, the first thing that may strike you is the small quantity of each chemical needed. I was so surprised that I felt I had to check my figures. I have bought enough alum to dye 312 x 20 gram skeins of wool, and enough copper to dye 1250 x 20 gram skeins of wool! I don’t think I’ll be running out of mordants for some considerable time. However, I could get through a lot of skeins of wool over the course of the year.
Now that my method is well-established, I am mordanting in the proportions of three skeins impregnated with alum and one with copper for each pot of dye I intend to produce, so now I also adjust the quantities given above to suit the number of mordanted skeins I need to dye either one, two or three batches of wool at a time. Although the copper yarns take on a bluish tinge, I tie an orange marker on them at this stage, so that I can distinguish them from the alum skeins in the dye pot.To dye my skeins, I take the dye I've extracted from my slow cooker or dye pot and put it on the stove in a big, shallow dye pan/bath. This is a little less than the 4 litres I stared with as some liquid is lost during the extraction process, but it is enough to cover four skeins of wool. If you remember, three of these were pre-mordanted with alum and one with copper. The dye bath is brought up to simmering point and the wool sits in the bath for half an hour. Make sure all the wool is covered. I don't let the liquor boil at any point as I've read that this will spoil the colours, let alone the wool.
After half an hour, I extract 5 x 60 ml. ladles of liquid from the large dye bath, and put it in a small pan. I add boiling water to a pinch of iron (an assistant or modifier rather than a true mordant) in a small dish, stir, add the iron to the pan and watch the dye 'sadden' or dull. Then I extract an alum mordanted skein from the larger dye bath and pop it in the pan, which is then brought up to simmering point for another half hour.
At the same time, I extract 5 x 60 ml. ladles of liquid from the bath, and put them in another small pan. I add boiling water to a pinch of tin (another well known assistant) in another small dish, stir, add the tin to my second pan and watch the dye 'gladden' or take on a pale, whitish tinge. Then I extract another of my alum mordanted skeins from the original large dye bath and pop it in this pan, which is then brought up to simmering point for another half hour.
The remaining alum and copper mordanted skeins in the big dye bath are put back on the stove, also for another half hour, in the reduced liquid, which is just enough to still cover them. At this point I remove all three pans from the heat and let them cool naturally. Before I take the skeins out of the pans, I mark the alum mordanted skein and the tin assisted skein with coloured wool markers, so that I can tell which is which if the shades turn out to be very similar. The iron assisted skein is usually quite different in colour, so I don't normally need to mark it!
Once they are cool, I wash and rinse the skeins carefully until they are clean and all the chemicals and dye have been removed. This is probably the most laborious bit of the whole process. I can now understand why traditional dye works were located by fast flowing, reliable streams. I remove excess water with a salad spinner (!) and hang the skeins up to dry overnight. If I've been gentle, the yarn has not tanged during this whole process.
The following day I can re-skein my batch of four wools and see what colours I've obtained. These are often quite subtle, sometimes very surprising. It is quite alchemical and such good fun. I'm addicted!
Thursday 23 February 2017
The Colours of February
I'm about to wind all these skeins into balls, ready for an Ostara weaving to celebrate the Celtic festival of Easter.
Weld, Daffodils and Buckthorn
This is the result of my dyeing over the past few days. The three photos show weld, daffodils and buckthorn dyed using my four skein method. Each experiment is a revelation! I'm definitely going to be dyeing some more daffodil heads as the colours are so vibrant.
Sunday 19 February 2017
Spring is in the Air
And, apparently, we are in for a heatwave from tomorrow! The flowers are already anticipating better weather. Soon, I'll be be able to gather lots of fresh plant material for dyeing. I can hardly contain myself!
Saturday 18 February 2017
Juniper Berries
The Celtic festival of Ostara on March 21st - 22nd celebrates the Spring Equinox. Christians borrowed this time of year for their Easter celebrations. Traditionally Ostara is a season of equilibrium, neither harsh winter nor sweltering summer. In human terms it is a time of childish wonder and a season to become free from things that may hinder progress. This festival is also one of fertility, where seeds are blessed ready for planting as soon as the soil warms. Traditional Ostara colours are light green, lemon yellow and pale pink, so I'm trying to dye with materials like these juniper berries that will yield me yellow skeins in readiness for my next warp, which will represent Easter. I shall set the brown skein, mordanted with alum and iron, for later in the year.
The Allotment
Yesterday, I went up to the Jubilee Graveyard to inspect a potential new allotment. Well, to be precise, it is one sixth of a plot, shared with other members of the Church family. It is very overgrown and will need a lot of digging to bring it back into cultivation. It is quite hard to envisage right now what it will eventually look like as a dyer's garden.
Beneath the weed cover, signs of life are stirring. There's even a clump of rhubarb, the roots and leaves of which can be used as a dye plant.
Beneath the weed cover, signs of life are stirring. There's even a clump of rhubarb, the roots and leaves of which can be used as a dye plant.
Friday 17 February 2017
Wild Colours
Six packets of seeds arrived in the post this morning from Wild Colours, an online supplier based in Birmingham that specialises in natural dyeing. Teresinha, who owns the company, provided a super quick, personal and efficient service. I've bought some Madder seeds, Dyer's Chamomile, Dyer's Coreopsis, Dyer's Greenwood, Weld and Woad. Now all I need is an Allotment!
Imbolc Weaving
My Winter Weaving is off the loom, and has been finished ready for hanging. I've decided to call it Imbolc, in honour of the Celtic festival that takes place at the beginning of February. Imbolc is known within the Celtic Church as Candlemas, or St. Brigid's Day. Before the arrival of Christianity, it was celebrated as one of the four Celtic 'Fire Festivals'. Traditionally, Imbolc commemorates the changing of the threefold Goddess from the Crone to the Maiden. It celebrates the first signs of Spring, as the first green shoots begin to emerge with the returning sun and the days begin to lengthen. So, the festival of Imbolc commemorates the successful passing of winter and announces the beginning of the agricultural year. The 52 colours contained in my weaving, all extracted from natural plant materials, reflect the dormant colours of the winter countryside and the rich browns of the ploughed earth.
Wednesday 15 February 2017
Signs of Spring
The first daffodils have come into the florists' shops, the blue tits are investigating their nesting box and the robins are fighting for territories in my garden. Meanwhile, I carry on dyeing whatever I can get my hands on; yesterday this was some Oak Moss Lichen and Dyer's Broom. Both sets of skeins were mordanted, from the left, with alum, copper, alum plus tin and alum plus iron. The colours are definitely heading towards a Spring palette.
Tuesday 14 February 2017
Walnut Leaves
A few days ago I dyed some skeins with walnut husks. Yesterday I tried dyeing with walnut leaves. The results were some quite interesting olive greens, not what I'd expected at all! The skeins were mordanted in the usual way. The top image shows the shades obtained for leaves and the lower one the shade the husks gave me originally.
St John's Wort
My Hypericum (St John's Wort) still has some leaves on it, so yesterday afternoon
I decided to see what colour they would give me. Not bad at all! From the left, mordanted with alum, copper, alum + tin and alum + iron.
I decided to see what colour they would give me. Not bad at all! From the left, mordanted with alum, copper, alum + tin and alum + iron.
Winter Weft
Like the warp, this will also contain 26 colours, so that the whole weaving will comprise 52 different colours, one for every week in a year.
|
Winter Weft
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dyestuff |
Alum |
Alum+Tin |
Alum+Iron |
Copper |
|
Oak Bark |
|
|
X |
|
|
Walnut Hulls |
|
X |
|
|
|
Birch Bark |
|
|
X |
|
|
Horse Chestnut |
|
X |
|
|
|
Eucalyptus Leaves |
X |
|
|
|
|
Safflower |
X |
|
|
|
|
Apple Prunings |
|
X |
|
|
|
Eucalyptus Leaves |
X |
|
|
|
|
Brambles |
|
|
|
X |
|
Elderberry |
|
|
|
X |
|
Eucalyptus Leaves |
|
|
X |
|
|
Safflower |
|
X |
|
|
|
Brambles |
X |
|
|
|
|
Rhubarb Root |
|
|
|
X |
|
Safflower |
|
|
X |
|
|
Elderberry |
|
|
X |
|
|
Apple Prunings |
X |
|
|
|
|
Yew |
X |
|
|
|
|
Eucalyptus Leaves |
|
|
X |
|
|
Eucalyptus Bark |
|
|
|
X |
|
Yew |
|
|
X |
|
|
Oak Bark |
|
|
|
X |
|
Horse Chestnut |
|
|
X |
|
|
Birch Bark |
X |
|
|
|
|
Yew |
|
|
|
X |
|
Brambles |
|
|
X |
|
Monday 13 February 2017
Dried Birch Leaves
The birch trees are still slumbering, and show no signs yet of new Spring growth, so yesterday I dyed a set of four skeins with the juice obtained from dried birch leaves. It will be interesting to see how this set compares with one dyed with the liquor distilled from fresh green birch leaves. From the left, the skeins were mordanted with alum, copper, alum plus tin and alum plus iron.
Wild Cherry Bark and Twigs
Despite the winter chill and lack of plants suitable for dyeing, February's stash of yarns is slowly beginning to grow. Here is a set of skeins I dyed using the clippings from a wild cherry tree that grows in Loughton's linear park. At this time of year, the tree looks stark and bare, but in a few weeks time it will be loaded with cherry blossom, a sure sign that Spring is here. From the left, the fibres were mordanted with alum, copper, alum plus tin and alum plus iron. My four skein method continues to yield results.
Sunday 12 February 2017
Winter Warp on my Saori Loom
My Winter Warp is on the loom, and I've begun to weave the weft. I think that the yarn I am using must be worsted spun. It was very well-behaved up to the point when I had to beam the warp back through the loom, as it has taken the dyes well and it threaded-up easily and straightforwardly through the reed and heddles.
However, I noticed that the whole warp took up a pronounced twist as it sat and waited at the front of my loom, ready to be wound through to the back, and as I began the process of beaming the warp onto the warp roller, each of the sets of five ends that I'd wound onto my warping board also began to twist together, which impeded their progress through the reed. Jerking the warp threads back and forth as recommended in the 'purple book' did not fix the problem. Winding up the warp proved to be a very slow process, as I had to keep stopping to untangle east set of warp threads as it approached the reed. I managed to fix everything eventually though, and started to weave.
The cloth is turning out to be very regular with a pronounced, balanced interlock between the warp and the weft. Not so Saori-style! I'd originally thought of making an ombre fabric, but I'm having second thoughts. I think I'll wind at about 20 bobbins in a wide range of colours this morning, and see what my heart says as the cloth begins to grow under my hands!
The warp contains twenty-six colours, all made from natural plants mordanted as shown in the chart below. I still have thirty-eight more colours to play with, so I should have plenty of choice about which to weave next!
|
Winter Warp
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dyestuff |
Alum |
Alum+Tin |
Alum+Iron |
Copper |
|
Chamomile Flowers |
|
|
X |
|
|
Apple Prunings |
|
|
X |
|
|
Walnut Hulls |
X |
|
|
|
|
Yew Bark |
|
|
X |
|
|
Walnut Hulls |
|
|
|
X |
|
Eucalyptus Leaves |
|
|
X |
|
|
Walnut Hulls |
|
|
X |
|
|
Golden Rox |
|
|
X |
|
|
Oak Leaves and Twigs |
|
|
X |
|
|
Rhubarb Root |
|
|
X |
|
|
Oak Bark |
|
|
X |
|
|
Eucalyptus Bark |
|
X |
|
|
|
Oak Bark |
|
X |
|
|
|
Oak Bark |
X |
|
|
|
|
Birch Bark |
|
|
|
X |
|
Eucalyptus Bark |
X |
|
|
|
|
Brambles |
|
X |
|
|
|
Rhubarb Root |
X |
|
|
|
|
Golden Rod |
|
X |
|
|
|
Rhubarb Root |
|
X |
|
|
|
Safflower |
|
|
|
X |
|
Chamomile Flowers |
X |
|
|
|
|
Elderberries |
|
X |
|
|
|
Eucalyptus Leaves |
|
|
|
X |
|
Oak Leaves and Twigs |
|
|
|
X |
|
Horse Chestnut |
X |
|
|
|
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