Natural Dye with Oxalis Flowers on Cotton Lint
by
Janis Saunders
(From FIBER NEWS June 1997)
It is definitely spring in my garden when the yellow oxalis (also
known as sour grass or wood sorrel) begins to bloom. Of course, right
now that is about the only thing in my the garden, but that's another
tale. Those flowers are calling to me to do some natural dyeing. I seem to do
a little each year having done quite a bit of experimenting about
twenty years ago. Now I enjoy taking the oxalis and making a one-pot dye
bath.
This year I decided to dye some cotton from the garden of a
friend. I will tell you how I did it but beware, it isn't very scientific
at all!These quantities are an educated guess but the soft golden yellow
color is nice so I consider it a success.
1/2 C. of oxalis (oxalis corniculata) flowers, no stems
3/8 oz. cotton
1 T. alum
1 T. washing soda
tap water to cover
stainless steel pot
I put the flowers in the tap water, brought it to a boil and then
simmered for 30 minutes. I then removed the flowers.
I added the alum to the clear bright yellow bath and it became a
bit cloudy. Then I sprinkled some of the washing soda into the bath,
turned around to check my notes and when I turned back found I had
missed most of a surprising chemical reaction. The dye bath had turned into a
pumpkin colored foam!!* The foam was so stiff it held a + inch diameter,
8 inch long dowel straight up in the center of the pot. The foam
actually extended over the edge of the pot by almost + inch and took at
least ten minutes to go down, there was no scent or obvious gas given off,
but the next time I will do this outside. Once it got below the edge of
the pot I stirred it to encourage it to dissipate and eventually added the
rest of the washing soda.
The cotton had been scoured earlier by simmering it for 40
minutes with 1 tablespoon of washing soda. It was rinsed well, added to the
pumpkin colored bath, brought to a boil and simmered for 2 hours
(probably a little long but it didn't seem to hurt it).
I rinsed the cotton and tried to tease it apart to dry. I should
have tried harder because after it was dry it was all matted up and
took quite a bit of time to tease into a fluffy mass.
The information I had was for pre-mordanted cotton so I
think that is why there was no mention of foam in the article!
The articles were from Joan Ruane’s Cotton Newsletter, issues 2
and 6.You can get her newsletter (full of information about cotton) and
catalog by writing her at Southwest Corner, PO Box 418, Bisbee, AZ
85603 or call her at 800-879-8412, the newsletter is $5.00 per year for
four issues, a real bargain. *I have since learned that the acid from
the oxalis reacted with the washing soda to make the foam.
Janis
janis@sandiego.com
Bio:
Janis has been weaving seriously for sixteen years. For eight
years she wove cloth for a local designer. She weaves blankets and scarves
using complex patterns on a AVL compudobby and also enjoys inkle
weaving,tablet weaving, Kumihimo, spinning, braids and knots, as well as
natural dyeing. Janis teaches intermediate weaving at the Crafts Center,
University of California at San Diego. As editor/membership for
TWIST:
Tablet Weaver's International Studies & Techniques she has the
opportunity to correspond with weavers all over the world.
Her website, The Weaver's Hand, features pages on Kumihimo,
Peter Collingwood, TWIST's homepage and gallery and WARP: Weave a Real
Peace,and our two local guilds as well as links to other interesting
sites. The
URL is:
http://w3.thegroup.net/~janis
Weaver's Hand - Information Page
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