At the start of the new year and as I gradually feel more settled here in our new home, I have begun to ask myself what I plan to do with any free time I may have and which new craft projects I’d like to embark on. I have to admit that there are times when I find it difficult to motivate myself to start dyeing again. I don’t produce items for sale and, with the exception of yarns dyed for my own personal projects, most of my dyeing is done as experiments for whatever article or book I am working on currently. As I still have so many naturally-dyed yarns waiting to be used, I feel reluctant to add even more to my stock, especially when I recall how much I gave away when we moved.
My main interest has for some time been the textile traditions of the past and I am working on some more Anglo-Saxon style dyeing experiments. I realise this is a very loose description, as what I have been doing is considering the colour range that might have been available to ordinary people living during the Anglo-Saxon period, particularly those who may not have had access to alum mordants. So I shall be writing more about this at a later date.
I have also decided that it is about time I learned some new skills, as well as trying to improve some old ones. As I am so interested in the textile skills of the past, I plan to teach myself card (or tablet) weaving and with that in mind I’ve purchased a book to guide me through the processes involved. I also hope to improve my spindle-spinning and my naalbinding techniques. As an added encouragement, for Christmas my friend Chris Dobson, who shares my interest in ancient textile techniques, sent me some lovely wooden weaving tablets, together with a shuttle and a beater, and also a bone naalbinding needle. So, having committed my intentions to print in this post, and with the equipment I need ready at hand, perhaps this will give me the incentive I need to get started. Indeed, as the photos below show, I have actually managed to thread my tablets ready for weaving, using blue and tan yarns dyed with woad. Now I must follow the next pages of instruction and actually do some weaving! (Thank you, Chris, for getting me started!)
Of course, when the weather improves we shall begin to make some changes here in the garden, probably starting with two new beds for herbs and dye plants and we also plan to plant some roses. I do miss my old garden, especially when I think of all the hellebores and bulbs that will soon be flowering there. But I have already noticed some bulbs beginning to emerge from the ground here and we have created some spaces for hellebores too, so eventually this new garden should hopefully bring as much pleasure into our lives as did our garden in Shefford.
On a personal note, our daughter is expecting her second child in early March, so I am also knitting one or two items for the baby. As these will use up only a tiny part of my yarn stock, I suspect I may also need to embark on other knitting projects – perhaps more cushions? – as the year progresses.
Tablet weaving set up on our old Italian fruitwood chest
A closer view of the tablets threaded ready for weaving
Dyeing Cotton and other Cellulose Fibres
/in Dyeing Tips & RecipesAs I have recently been working on an article for “The Journal for Weavers, Spinners & Dyers” on using natural dyes on vegetable fibres, I thought I’d write a few words on the subject here.
There seems to be a fairly common belief that dyeing cotton and other cellulose fibres with natural dyes is often less successful than dyeing animal fibres, such as wool. This may be because some dyers use the same mordanting methods for all fibres, rather than selecting methods appropriate to each fibre type, and this can lead to disappointing results. However, using natural dyes on cellulose fibres has become simpler and less labour-intensive since aluminium acetate is now more widely available in the UK. Before the arrival of alum acetate, the alum-mordanting method generally used for best results when dyeing cotton or linen has probably been the 3-step tannin/alum/alum (or alum/tannin/alum) method, which takes several days to complete. This involves treating the fibres in sequence with both tannin and alum sulphate, the latter plus washing soda. Some dyers favour completing the tannin process first, followed by two treatments with alum and washing soda, while others prefer to carry out the tannin process between the two alum treatments. I don’t think it really matters which sequence one chooses. Some dyers may opt to use only the alum sulphate plus washing soda step and to omit the tannin process completely, although in my experience this tends to give less satisfactory results, unless the cellulose fibres being treated have a natural tannin content, as may be the case with raffia. (See my earlier post: “A Natural Dyeing Project in Uganda”)
Detailed recipes for mordanting vegetable fibres are given in my books, so I won’t repeat them here. However, I would suggest that dyers who haven’t yet tried alum acetate as a mordant for cellulose fibres might find it worth while experimenting with the following mordanting recipe:
Use 5% alum acetate (or 2.5 tsps per 100gms/4ozs dry weight of fibres). Dissolve the alum acetate in boiling water and add this to cool water in the pot, stirring well. Then add the wetted fibres, plus more water if necessary to allow them to move freely in the solution, heat to simmering point and hold at this temperature for one hour. Then turn off the heat, leave the fibres to cool, preferably overnight, and then remove them and rinse them well. (Note: alum acetate is available from some of the suppliers listed on my blog under “Useful Websites”)
I have found this mordanting method gives good results on cotton and other vegetable fibres. It is also suitable for silk, but not for other animal fibres, and is widely used in Japan as a mordant for silk. I used it to mordant fine silk fibres when dyeing silk for handweaver Maggie Stearn and found it most successful. (See my earlier post: “Maggie Stearn – Handweaver”)
Naturally-dyed cotton mordanted with alum acetate. Clockwise from left to right: indigo, brazilwood, weld, weld + indigo, fustic, madder, logwood, cochineal
Some of the naturally-dyed raffia fibres dyed by the basketweavers of Rubona, Uganda.
2011 – What Next?
/in Diary & NewsAt the start of the new year and as I gradually feel more settled here in our new home, I have begun to ask myself what I plan to do with any free time I may have and which new craft projects I’d like to embark on. I have to admit that there are times when I find it difficult to motivate myself to start dyeing again. I don’t produce items for sale and, with the exception of yarns dyed for my own personal projects, most of my dyeing is done as experiments for whatever article or book I am working on currently. As I still have so many naturally-dyed yarns waiting to be used, I feel reluctant to add even more to my stock, especially when I recall how much I gave away when we moved.
My main interest has for some time been the textile traditions of the past and I am working on some more Anglo-Saxon style dyeing experiments. I realise this is a very loose description, as what I have been doing is considering the colour range that might have been available to ordinary people living during the Anglo-Saxon period, particularly those who may not have had access to alum mordants. So I shall be writing more about this at a later date.
I have also decided that it is about time I learned some new skills, as well as trying to improve some old ones. As I am so interested in the textile skills of the past, I plan to teach myself card (or tablet) weaving and with that in mind I’ve purchased a book to guide me through the processes involved. I also hope to improve my spindle-spinning and my naalbinding techniques. As an added encouragement, for Christmas my friend Chris Dobson, who shares my interest in ancient textile techniques, sent me some lovely wooden weaving tablets, together with a shuttle and a beater, and also a bone naalbinding needle. So, having committed my intentions to print in this post, and with the equipment I need ready at hand, perhaps this will give me the incentive I need to get started. Indeed, as the photos below show, I have actually managed to thread my tablets ready for weaving, using blue and tan yarns dyed with woad. Now I must follow the next pages of instruction and actually do some weaving! (Thank you, Chris, for getting me started!)
Of course, when the weather improves we shall begin to make some changes here in the garden, probably starting with two new beds for herbs and dye plants and we also plan to plant some roses. I do miss my old garden, especially when I think of all the hellebores and bulbs that will soon be flowering there. But I have already noticed some bulbs beginning to emerge from the ground here and we have created some spaces for hellebores too, so eventually this new garden should hopefully bring as much pleasure into our lives as did our garden in Shefford.
On a personal note, our daughter is expecting her second child in early March, so I am also knitting one or two items for the baby. As these will use up only a tiny part of my yarn stock, I suspect I may also need to embark on other knitting projects – perhaps more cushions? – as the year progresses.
Tablet weaving set up on our old Italian fruitwood chest
A closer view of the tablets threaded ready for weaving
Thanks and Good Wishes for Christmas and 2011
/in Diary & News2010 brought many changes in my life and also the long-awaited reprint of “Wild Colour”, this time in a new, revised edition. Once again, I’d like to express my gratitude to Mary Walker, who arranged the Facebook page for the book, and to all those who supported our efforts to persuade the publishers to reprint “Wild Colour”. Having tried unsuccessfully myself so many times, I know I could certainly not have achieved this on my own. So sincere thanks to you all.
As the holiday season approaches, I’d like to wish everyone a very happy Christmas and all the very best for 2011.
Fresh Walnut Hulls
/in Dyeing Tips & RecipesI suspect I am not alone in sometimes finding it difficult to achieve a really deep brown from walnut hulls. However, one solution to this problem is to use fresh green walnut hulls, rather than dried brown ones. This Autumn I was lucky enough to harvest some walnuts and, after eating the nuts, I saved the green hulls to use for dyeing. I left the hulls until they had started to become brown before I simmered them until the liquid was deep brown in colour. I then strained off the liquid, added some unmordanted wool skeins and simmered them for about an hour. I left them to steep in the cooling dyebath overnight before rinsing and washing them.
As can be seen from the first two skeins in the photo below, this dyebath gave a rich deep brown and the exhaust dyebath gave a paler shade. Now I just have to find a reliable source of fresh walnuts each year. However, I should be able to use these hulls for a year or two, as I always save the used hulls, plus their liquid, to use again and again. Don’t worry if mould forms as time passes – this will only improve the dye.
Fresh green walnuts
Walnut leaves
The walnut hulls simmering to make the dyebath
From the left, skeins 1 and 2 were dyed using fresh walnut hulls and skeins 3 and 4 were dyed using fresh walnut leaves
Findon Church
/in Diary & NewsAs we gradually explore the countryside around us here, one of my favourite places has been the area near Findon church, which is separated from the village by the A24. This means that to get to the church one either has to cross the A24 on foot or drive out of the village and over the main road to the country lane that leads up to Findon’s Saxon church of St. John the Baptist. It is very unusual for a village church to be cut off from the village in this way but its isolation does give the church a particularly tranquil and peaceful setting, especially as the church is approached by a quiet narrow lane with trees on either side. The views over the countryside are spectacular and it is also along this lane leading to the church that I have found some interesting specimens of fungi and some wonderful old trees, including a walnut tree.
Findon church is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 but an architectural study of the building shows evidence of a Saxon church which predates the Norman record and was probably built around 900AD. In 1120 the Norman parts of the church were built and in 1254 the church had its first recorded patron, Reginald de Northank. The early patrons were the owners of the manor of Findon, until 1506 when Magdalen College Oxford took over the responsibility. In 1949 the patronage of the parish passed to the Bishop of Chichester.
In 1867 a major reconstruction of the interior of the church was carried out by Sir Gilbert Scott and this included the tiles on either side of the altar, which were designed by William Morris, one of the founders of the Arts and Crafts Movement.
The entrance to Findon Church
Findon Church tower
The interior of the church
Some of the William Morris tiles in the church
A lichen-encrusted headstone in the graveyard
A woad-bearing visitor
/in General Dye InformationJust over a week ago we had our first non-family guest to stay for a few days and we very much enjoyed this visit from Chris Dobson, a dear friend of nearly 30 years. Chris is a true kindred spirit and we have shared many happy hours engaged in various textile-related activities, especially natural dyeing, so I wasn’t surprised that she arrived bearing a large bag of woad leaves from her allotment.
We soon got down to making a woad vat and the leaves performed their magic, even though they had been in a plastic bag for nearly three days before we used them. Chris, who is also a horticultural expert and source of information on all botanical matters, told me that, as long as the leaves are stored slightly damp in a little water in a plastic bag in a cool place, there is no reason why they can’t be picked a few days in advance and still give excellent blues. (I think the reason why we failed to get blues at Stanmer Park (see earlier post) from the stored woad leaves was probably because they had been stored in a fridge and the temperature had been too low.)
The following photos show some of the stages of our woad vat.
The chopped leaves soaking in just-boiled water. Note the metallic sheen appearing on the surface
The blue froth formed after adding washing soda to the strained-off solution and whisking to incorporate oxygen
Scraping out the last of the froth that contains the blue pigment
Adding sodium hydrosulphite to the solution
The vat nearly ready to use
Gently adding the skeins to the vat
The skeins in the vat. Notice the blue froth still lingering on the surface, even though we have tried to gently stir it all into the solution
Removing the dyed skeins. Next to the vat is a bucket of water, into which the skeins will be immersed after they are removed from the vat. This will get rid of any loose particles of indigo pigment, which might cause blotches.
Some of the dyed skeins drying
P.S. to “Fungi Again”
/in General Dye InformationThe mushrooms which gave such a good yellow have re-appeared on the grass at the front of our house, so I have photographed them in case anyone is able to identify them. I think they may be a species of Hygrocybe.
These mushrooms gave a lovely bright yellow in the dyebath.
My new “den”
/in Diary & NewsBefore my summer house (or, as my two-year-old granddaughter calls it, “Namma’s Wendy House) becomes as cluttered and untidy as my workshop at our old home, I thought it would be a good idea to make a photographic record of it in its tidy state. Not that I intend to fill this new “den” with disorganised “stuff” but somehow these things just seem to happen.
The first photo shows a very useful plastic garden storage unit, left behind by the former owners of the house. This has turned out to be the ideal place for storing all my dye equipment and dyes etc.
As the other photos below suggest, I haven’t spent much time in my “den” yet, so everything looks much tidier than I am accustomed to. I can’t imagine the tablecloth will remain on my dyeing table when I get round to some serious dyeing and the new heat source will certainly soon be as stained as all my old ones.
Storage unit for my dyeing equipment etc
My spinning area
This shows the spinning area from a different angle
My dyeing area, complete with shiny new heat source, as yet unused.
Area for relaxing (particularly popular with my granddaughter)
Fungi again
/in General Dye InformationThe narrow road leading to the church in Findon is lined on both sides with trees and on one old beech tree stump I found some intriguing fungi, which as usual I haven’t managed to identify. Of course I tried some small samples out in the dyepot but sadly, as the photo below shows, the results were not particularly worthwhile.
Skeins dyed using the fungi shown in the first two photos below
These samples were all dyed using an alum mordant.
These fine specimens looked wonderful growing all around the tree stump and gave the colour shown on the left-hand skein (plus a pinch of iron) and the centre skein.
These were lying on the grass and looked quite sinister. They gave the colour shown on the right-hand skein.
I think this might be a specimen of Hoof Fungus Fomes fomentarius. It certainly resembles a horse’s hoof and I didn’t want to disturb it for the dyepot.
Might the upper fungus in this photo be Ganoderma applanatum or Artist’s fungus? Whatever these fungi may be, they looked too attractive to sacrifice for the dyepot.
A few days later my husband pointed out some mushrooms growing on our front lawn, which I think are probably a species of Hygrocybe. These proved more useful in the dye pot and gave a pretty shade of yellow on an alum mordant. I’m afraid I forgot to photograph the mushrooms before I used them in the dyepot, so the photo below of the dyed skein shows the used mushrooms from the dyebath, plus one fresh mushroom I managed to find. I should also add that the depth of yellow achieved was actually considerably deeper than it appears in the photo.
Skein dyed using mushrooms from our lawn
Exploring the local area
/in Diary & NewsI’m afraid I haven’t yet managed to get round to starting any dyeing projects, as we are spending so much time with our granddaughter and also trying to explore a little of the local area.
We recently made a trip to Bosham, a delightful village near Chichester and known to be the oldest site of Christianity in Sussex. Bosham has many beautiful old buildings, including a wonderful church dating back to Saxon times, some parts of which have survived from this period. Perhaps Bosham is most famous for being depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry. Harold, Earl of Wessex, the future king, had a home in Bosham and in the scene from the tapestry he is shown riding to Bosham and entering the church, before embarking on his ill-fated trip to Normandy in 1064.
Bosham church also has a memorial to one of King Canute’s daughters who, according to tradition, drowned and was buried in the church. In 1865 a small stone coffin was found which was thought at the time to be from the 11th century. When in 1954 the coffin was again exposed a second larger coffin was found nearby containing some bones. However, without closer examination, precise dating of the coffins is difficult and the truth of this story has not been verified.
A view of Bosham church tower
The interior of Bosham church
A copy of the section of the Bayeux tapestry showing King Harold's visit to Bosham church
This part of Sussex has many other historical sites to visit and next on our list is the Roman Palace at Fishbourne, which has the most remarkable Roman mosaics. We visited the palace many years ago but a further visit is certainly well overdue. The other museum I’m looking forward to revisiting is The Weald and Downland Open Air Museum at Singleton. So expect more about these two places in due course.
The journey home once again took us over the downs, which are among the most characteristic features of the Sussex landscape.
A view over the downs