Monthly Archives: October 2013

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Atlantis Inspired BLUE windows at Hermes Beverley Hills

Zim and Zou at hermes Beverley Hills

Cool Blue Windows by Zim and Zou at Hermes Beverley Hills

http://trendland.com/zim-zou-create-atlantis-at-hermes-beverly-hills/

 

 

 

 

Blue Sky and Blue Tiles at the Mosque Hassan II Casablanca 26/10/13

IMG_2149IMG_2153  IMG_2155 IMG_2156 IMG_2158 IMG_2165 IMG_2166Beautiful blue sky and intricate Islamic tiling at the Worlds 3rd Largest Mosque in Casablanca, Morocco

first date

Just met with Liz for the first time! Fortunately she is on it with a mood board and a really interesting geometric print idea. Now i’ve seen the shapes she’s starting with definitely gives some scope to start planning and visualising some ideas for my designs.

whitstable

Woad Dyeing Workshop

Different yarns

Different yarns

 

Waiting for woad water to reach 50 degrees to places yarns on to dye

Waiting for woad water to reach 50 degrees to places yarns in vat to dye

 

Yarns soaking in re-used woad. After the dye has been extracted the first time a second use of it creates a pink colour.

Yarns soaking in re-used woad. After the dye has been extracted the first time a second use of it then creates a pink colour when yarns are soaked in it.

The colour comes though once the yarn is taken out of the vat and exposed to oxygen

The colour comes through once the yarn is taken out of the vat and exposed to oxygen

The yarns changed colour instantly from their natural colour to the  different blue tones produced from Woad.

The yarns changed colour instantly from their natural colour to the different blue tones you can achieve from Woad. Each fibre reacts diffrently, creating slight variations of blue.

Examples of yarns which have been dyed using the woad plant.

Examples of yarns which have been dyed using the woad plant.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Woad dying workshop

A woad plant

A woad plant

Woad balls were a traditional way of storing woad dye.

Woad balls were a traditional way of storing woad dye.

 

 

The woad plant has been used for thousands of years as a way of dying fabric and yarns blue, it also produces a light pink/beige. The blue comes from the leaves of the woad plant.

 

 

 

 

In the woad dying workshop I was part of the group using Woad pigment. Before the dying process the yarn and fabric were soaked in water, to allow the dye to take to the fibre.

pre-soaked yarn ready for the dying process

pre-soaked yarn ready for the dying process

We used soda crystals as a strong alkaline to allow the woad pigment to dissolve in the water. We dissolved 25gms of soda crystals in half a litre of hot water from the kettle and added 10gms of woad pigment, mixing well.

soda crystals were used to help dissolve the pigment.

soda crystals were used to help dissolve the pigment.

Woad pigment getting measured out

Woad pigment getting measured out

The pigment mix going into hot water.

The pigment mix going into hot water.

We added the dye mix  to a pot of hot water and mixed in well. We then added Hydrosulfite, to help stop the colours run, to the dye bath mixing in slowly to avoid getting too much air into the bath.

After 45 minutes we slowly placed the fabric and yarns into the dye bath, carefully to avoid getting too much air in the mix.

We left them in the dye bath for about 10 minuets. When the fabric and yarns where in the water they looked a yellowy green.

the yarn and fabric looked yellow when it was in the dye bath

the yarn and fabric looked yellow when it was in the dye bath

When the yarns were taken out of the dye bath they were still a yellowy green colour. But when exposed to the air around it it started to change to a blue.

watch as the yarn magically changes colour

It was amazing the different amount of colours we managed to get.

 

Yarn that has just change colour to blue

Yarn that has just change colour to blue

 

Close up of yarn.

Close up of yarn.

 

 

Two different dying techniques produced different shades of blue.

Two different dying techniques produced different shades of blue.

 

Same dye lot

Same dye lot

 When we got all the samples back, it was amazing to see the range of colours.

All the different dying techniques

All the different dying techniques

All the different dying techniques

All the different dying techniques

All the different dying techniques

All the different dying techniques

Woad dyeing (Friday afternoon) with 1-2-3 Fructose Vat

METHOD!

Using woad powder from woad leaves to 10gms

 

Measuring the fructose (sugar) to 30gms

Measuring the Calcium Hydroxide to 20gms

Checking the temperature of the water (must be 50-60 degrees)

Mixing water with the woad powder to create a paste

Mixing water and powder

Putting the paste in the hot water

Making sure all the paste is in the water

Mixing the water together

Putting the calcium hydroxide in the water

Mixing the calcium hydroxide in the water

Mixing…

Putting washed yarn in

Leave for a while…

Taking the yarn out (pull along side of the vat to get rid of the water)

Wash in clean water

Wash in clean water

Different colours can be created depending on how long the yarn is in the dye for

A dark blue

Mixture of colours

Natural dye compared to synthetic dye

Not a good vat- it has blue bubbles in it!

P1000930

The collection of blues created

Woad Dyeing (Friday afternoon) with woad leaves and vinegar

METHOD!

METHOD!

 

Cutting woad leaves

Cutting woad leaves

Adding vinegar to the woad leaves

Adding vinegar to the woad leaves

 

Mixing vinegar and woad leaves together

Mixing the leaves together

Straining woad leaves

Straining the woad leaves

Straining woad leaves

Straining the woad leaves

Woad + vinegar after straining

Strained mixture

Washed but not dyed yarns

Washed yarn

Washed but not dyed yarns

Silk- washed yarn

Coding of the different yarns

Identification of the yarn

Collecting yarns together to put in bucket

Washed yarn- ready to put in the dye

Putting the yarns in

Putting the yarns in

Yarns in the cut woad leaves bucket

Yarns in the dye

WAIT ONE HOUR.

 

Taking dyed yarn out

Taking the yarn out of the dye

Taking dyed yarn out

Taking yarn out of the dye

Taking dyed yarn out

Taking yarn out of the dye

 

Dying with woad

Identification of Fibres

Fibres need to be washed well to remove the lanolin, and soaked in clean water before being added to the dye bath.

Woad leaf

For a 1 gallon dye vat, tear 250g of fresh woad leaved into small pieces and put them into the dye pot, until a cherry colour appears.

1 gallon dye vat with 250g of fresh woad leaves

 

Strain it and allow it to cool to 50c. It must not be hotter.

 

Washing soda

 

Add some washing soda to hot water and dissolve it.

Adding washing soda to the pan

 

Add the dissolved washing soda to the vat to turn it to a greeny brown colour.

pH

 

To check the colour, the pH should be between 9 and 10.

Blue bubbles

 

Whisk the  liquid until blue bubbles form on the  surface. It usually takes 10 minutes.

Heat back

 

Heat back to 50c.

Sodium Dithionite

 

Sprinkle on about 1 tablespoon of colour run remover (sodium dithionite Na2S2O4) over the liquid. WEAR A MASK.

Heat off

 

Take off the heat, cover and allow to stand for about 45 minutes, until the liquid has turned a yellowy green colour. DON’T STIR – will introduce more oxygen and it won’t work.

Soaked yarn

 

When it is ready, place gently the  soaked yarn into the vat and leave for approximately 20 minutes.

Remove fibres

 

Remove the fibres very gently without dripping into the vat.

Clear water

 

Plunge them into a bowl of clear water and then lift them up and expose them to the air.

Blue colour

 

The yellowy green colour should change to a beautiful blue.

Woad Dyeing with pigment and leaves

On Friday we were given the opportunity to dye with woad in both leaf and pigment form. We were explained the complex process of extracting the dye from leaves  in stages.

DSCF3305 DSCF3306

We began with the fresh woad leaves that were then torn up to release the dye. The leaves then have to be steeped in water, at roughly 90 degrees so the water is hot but not boiling. After the liquid is strained to remove the leaves leaving the pigmented water.

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The next stage is to heat the strained liquid to a temperature that does not exceed 50 degrees, as overheating can ruin the pigmentation process. As woad is insoluble the dye itself will not attach easily to the fibres, so an alkaline has to be added to neutralise the liquid. In this case we added soda crystals. After a while the liquid had a blue foam coating the surface, and a slight yellowish tinge underneath:

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Once the vat was ready to use, we carefully lowered a mixture of yarns and fabric so we could have a comparison of the effect of colour:

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We left the fibres in for approximately half an hour. Meanwhile we prepared the vat using the pigment dye that had already been extracted from the leaves. This followed a similar process but cut out the preparation so the powdered pigment could be added instantly to hot water before adding the fabric.  Spectralite, a chemical substance, is added with the pigment. The dying then takes roughly the same amount of time.

DSCF3307DSCF3320

 

What was most interesting with both dying processes is the colour change the fibres underwent with oxidisation. Once taken out of the dye vat both the pigment and leaf dyed fabrics turned from a vivid florescent green to a range of blues.

 

DSCF3335DSCF3329

 

Our tests with both processes showed the leaves produced a more turquoise blue, whereas the pigment delivered a deeper indigo hue.

However woad is not only limited to produce blue when dying. The exhausted leaves discarded in the straining can be used to dye too. When immersed in 50 degree water as with the others, the leaves can produce a range of pink and peach tones.

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Below left: an example of a pink made by using the leftover leaves. Right: A range of coloured yarns produced with woad dyes.

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Although blue is not a colour obviously present in nature, it would appear this little plant has it in abundance.

DSCF3325       A range of plants that produce blue dye.

Woad Dyeing Workshop

On Friday we were taught two methods of dyeing using the woad pigment and the woad leaf. It was interesting to see the difference in colour and shade between the two processes of dyeing.

 

image-194Tearing the woad leaf.

image-201Torn woad leaf in boiling water.

image-195Measuring out the pigment.

image-199 copyDifferent stages of the woad plant: alive seeds, leaves, dead seeds and pigment balls.

image-198Different colours that can be achieved from the woad plant.

image-202Carefully placing yarn into the pigment and water, making sure no oxygen goes into the dye.

image-204 image-206

image-207 image-208When first taken out of the dye, the yarn and fabric appear a yellow colour. Once the dye reacts with oxygen, the colour develops into a blue.

image-209Different shades of blue yarn created from the pigment dye.

image-210A turquoise shade is created from the woad leaf dye.

 

 

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