Cool Blue Windows by Zim and Zou at Hermes Beverley Hills
http://trendland.com/zim-zou-create-atlantis-at-hermes-beverly-hills/
Monthly Archives: October 2013
Blue Sky and Blue Tiles at the Mosque Hassan II Casablanca 26/10/13
Beautiful 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.
Woad Dyeing Workshop
Different yarns
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 then creates a pink colour when yarns are soaked in it.
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 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.
Woad dying workshop
A woad plant
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
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.
Woad pigment getting measured out
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
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
Close up of yarn.
Two different dying techniques produced different shades of blue.
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
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!
The collection of blues created
Woad Dyeing (Friday afternoon) with woad leaves and vinegar
METHOD!
Cutting woad leaves
Adding vinegar to the woad leaves
Mixing the leaves together
Straining the woad leaves
Straining the woad leaves
Strained mixture
Washed yarn
Silk- washed yarn
Identification of the yarn
Washed yarn- ready to put in the dye
Putting the yarns in
Yarns in the dye
WAIT ONE HOUR.
Taking the yarn out of the dye
Taking yarn out of the dye
Taking yarn out of the dye
Dying with woad
Fibres need to be washed well to remove the lanolin, and soaked in clean water before being added to the dye bath.
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.
Strain it and allow it to cool to 50c. It must not be hotter.
Add some washing soda to hot water and dissolve it.
Add the dissolved washing soda to the vat to turn it to a greeny brown colour.
To check the colour, the pH should be between 9 and 10.
Whisk the liquid until blue bubbles form on the surface. It usually takes 10 minutes.
Heat back to 50c.
Sprinkle on about 1 tablespoon of colour run remover (sodium dithionite Na2S2O4) over the liquid. WEAR A MASK.
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.
When it is ready, place gently the soaked yarn into the vat and leave for approximately 20 minutes.
Remove the fibres very gently without dripping into the vat.
Plunge them into a bowl of clear water and then lift them up and expose them to the air.
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.
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.
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:
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:
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.
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.
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.
Below left: an example of a pink made by using the leftover leaves. Right: A range of coloured yarns produced with woad dyes.
Although blue is not a colour obviously present in nature, it would appear this little plant has it in abundance.
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.
Tearing the woad leaf.
Torn woad leaf in boiling water.
Measuring out the pigment.
Different stages of the woad plant: alive seeds, leaves, dead seeds and pigment balls.
Different colours that can be achieved from the woad plant.
Carefully placing yarn into the pigment and water, making sure no oxygen goes into the dye.
When 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.
Different shades of blue yarn created from the pigment dye.
A turquoise shade is created from the woad leaf dye.
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