colour me happy

taking 100 grams of silk hankies

which are oh so soft!

separating them into six bundles

starting with home-grown madder root

which I clean with an old toothbrush

 chop up in an old blender

and dyed one bundle in the first dye pot

information tells us that the first dye extraction brings out the yellow

here the first dyeing is on the left and a second, separate vat and clean silk is on the right

there is a slight difference, the second vat is a little redder

the roots were soaked overnight, kept at a low simmer for 2 hours and then drained

the silk was dyed for 1.5 hr. at a low heat

and I’ve dried the roots to use again

when you grow your own dye material, weed and water it for 3 years

and then clean it with a toothbrush

it is wise to use every last drop of colour

next is pomegranate – just the rind

enjoy the seeds, they are good sprinkled in a salad

you can freeze the rind until there is enough to dye with

it is a strong dye so you don’t need too much

you get a strong yellow – the camera couldn’t catch these colours

adding an iron modifier to the yellow gives a beautiful mossy green

careful with the iron, too much can damage the silk

add a little at a time

  when it reaches the colour you want, remove it from the dye bath and rinse well

next – a lovely pot of cochineal

some of the bugs didn’t get strained out, they will drop out when spinning

then the two madder pots and the cochineal were combined

the colour is more subtle

and the handspun thrums from the scarf warp went into the pot as well

they will all be spun together

I’ve kept notes and samples so in six months I can do it all again

now for the big clean-up!