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Vat Dyes

Current documentation on natural dyes can be found in the lecture note of the Biochromes course in the Fabricademy website. We really invite you to first navigate through it to initiate your exploration.

Qualities of vat dyes

  1. Vat dyes
    • for insoluble dyes (such as indigo)
    • sustaible when long lasting and kept alive
    • sustaible when using leftovers for reduction
    • sustaible when growing insoluble dyes

Within the vat dyes we see a sustainable process, when the vat is kept "alive" ratther than exhausted.

Experimenting

Process

Sustainable indigo vats are ones that can be kept. Fermentation, iron, madder or henna vats are more sustainable than a sugar vat. For reasons of time keeping in the workshop sessions we will use a sugar vat.

  1. Preparation of ingredients

    • 1 part indigo
    • 2 parts slaked lime
    • 3 parts fructose

  2. Preparation of indigo paste

    • hydrate and crush indigo powder to be in suspension
    • boil water

  3. Preparation

    • add hot water to tall vessel
    • add hydrated indigo paste
    • add the sugar for reduction
    • add slaked lime for ph increase (11)

  4. Preparation

    • mix well, without forming bubbles
    • let sit for an hour
    • keep warm (never boiling, rather at 50dC)

  5. Preparation

    • dye your materials, areate and oxidate in between dips

  6. leftovers

    [illustration/map of the process]


Used plants in the first research session

Dye

  • NAME: Knotweed - Persicaria Tinctoria - japanse indigo
  • COLOR: blues (alone), greens (with reseda) purples (with madder or cochineal)
  • DYE COMPOUND: indigodine, indigotin, indirubin, indacan
  • PROVENIENCE: locally grown
  • NAME: Woad - Isatis tinctoria - Wede
  • COLOR: blues (alone), greens (with reseda) purples (with madder or cochineal)
  • DYE COMPOUND: indigodine, indigotin, indirubin, indacan
  • PROVENIENCE: locally grown
  • NAME: ENGLISH - LATIN - DUTCH - OTHER LANGUAGES :)
  • COLOR: color-color-color
  • DYE COMPOUND:
  • PROVENIENCE: local plant, abundant, waste stream etc
  • NAME: ENGLISH - LATIN - DUTCH - OTHER LANGUAGES :)
  • COLOR: color-color-color
  • DYE COMPOUND:
  • PROVENIENCE: local plant, abundant, waste stream etc
  • NAME: ENGLISH - LATIN - DUTCH - OTHER LANGUAGES :)
  • COLOR: color-color-color
  • DYE COMPOUND:
  • PROVENIENCE: local plant, abundant, waste stream etc


0-waste dyes process overview

Vat Dyes

Below a general step by step process for vat dyeing

STEP BY STEP overview

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Recycled pigments - recycling your dye bath

With wool it is possible to create a fully circular process, where nothing is wasted. This is done in two steps, Pigments, showcased here below in a step by step, and by creating an acid dye bath from split lakes in the step by step below.

STEP BY STEP overview

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Recycled dye bath - recycling your dye bath

With wool it is possible to create a fully circular process, where nothing is wasted. This is done in two steps, Pigments, showcased here above in a step by step, and by creating an acid dye bath from split lakes in the step by step below.

STEP BY STEP overview

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Other "leftovers"

leftover type

Add here if you had leftover, and which


The colours

Wool - vat Dyes

DYE STUFF 1 dip 2 dips 3 dips 4 dips 5 dips
persicaria
indigofera
isatis
other


Last update: September 6, 2022