What's Up Doc? a carrot top dye tutorial

You know when you workin' away 

and with out really thinking about it,

just one thought pops into your mind

which can remind you of another, and then of a taste, a tv show, an age, 

and so on...?

The other day while working away chopping up these carrot green 

and my hands where full of 

damp featheriness from 

4 bunches of carrots (thats a lot of carrots!)

trying to keep it under control on my tiny cutting board which balanced on my tiny counter top,

this was my thought sequince;

carrot tops

carrots

bugs bunny

saturday morning cartoons

my dad's Navy friend stopping by with a box of dunkin donut munchkins.

soon the tv time limit is forgotten as the adults enjoy another cup of coffee in the kitchen chatting and laughing loudly.

my sister and I dig into the box way too happy about the treats instead of snipping at eachother 

we hit our spots on the huge sectional and watch more 

Bugs. 

This also makes me think of that Cadbury Egg laying Bunny. 

Oh the days when we LIVED for such sugary treats. 

I used 124 grams of carrot greens

added a 6 gram skien of pre mordanted (ity bity) skein of 100% wool and a tiny strip of 100% silk fabric.

But first I pre soaked pre mordanted yarn and silk.

30 minutes later in went in one pot;

carrot tops

fibers

water

I heated the pot to a medium heat, so that the temp would climb slowly.

it took about 2 hours for any development of color to occur. 

I was expecting a brighter yellow because of what I got the first time I did this.

However, I was so pleasantly surprised. 

Look at that green!! 

I pulled out this little skein and the silk strip

and in went a large thick 100 grams of merino from Purl Soho.

And a vintage silk hankerchief. 

This time I added mordant to this second bath. About a teaspoon I think.

I should point out that in between the first and second bath I took the pot off the heat as I decided what to add next. As I was thinking the pot had time to cool down. 

Which can be really important when adding fibers to the bath because you want the fibers to be affected as little as possible so their delicate structures are not altered to a point that makes them not feel nice. 

Finally results. 

Love that green of the top tiny skein and the little silk wrapped around it. 

I can't quite decide if it's brassy or chartruese. 

The silk hankie will be avalible in my etsy shop soon in your interested:):):)

I thought it was be super fun to incorperate in a wedding. Groom's gift? Mom's gift? Whatever. Where ever. I have a whole collection going on right now of these natural dyed vintage silk hankies and I am in love with them. 

Have you tried dyeing with carrot tops? 

feel free to share your results ans thoughts in the comments.

Do you have any questions I didn't answer here? Let me know:) 

I love hearing from you. 

Happy Coloring!

ox,

rachel

Slow Fiber; processing barks and testing for color.

I've been so inspired lately by Jenny Dean and India Flint. Both prolific natural dyers, reading their books have helped me slow my process down much more and appreciate the process even more. Something I read in Jenny Dean's book, Wild Color, is about using barks. Several months ago I collected a few large pieces of birch bark I found on the ground. This past weekend I found some apple barks laying on the ground while at an apple orchard. Soaking barks can take at least one week to soak but i'll got longer. I've warmed up to this idea as I don't always have the time or the head space to watch pots all day. The processing of barks for dyes simply starts with breaking or cutting it into pieces, adding water, and forgeting about it for a week or so. 

I collected and processed about 4 oz of Hudson Golden Gem apple bark.

Along with 4oz Black Oxford apple bark. I processed these barks in the same way I did the birch bark. I now have two stainless pots (I used stainless steel in order to keep the water as pure as possible. I don't want any leaching from chipped enamel pots because it can alter the color). I filled both half with water, covered them and they will live on my porch where it's sunny but cool. This way, I'm hoping, no mold will occur. If it does, I'll just skim it off. 

Apples not included but I just wanted to show you what these varieties looked like. Also, the inner barks are much like the skin of the apples.... The Hudson gem being lighter and well... golden. The black Oxford being deeper and saturated. 

Another great tip I found in India Flints book, Eco Colour. She suggests using a tea test method to see if a certain plant has any dye potential. 

Our mums are still going but have a few dead heads. I collected a small handful.

Every jar that enters into our home, goes here. I'm constantly grabbing from our stock pile to stuff lichens into, mix mordants and dyes, and to store dried plants. Of course, once it's used as a dye tool, it's never used for anything else. 

I poured boiling water over three plant types to see if any color would flow out. 

Mums.

From left to right; mums, a rust colored plant, rose petals in hot water, rose petals in cold water. I noticed a few minutes after pouring boiling water onto the rose petals, the pigment in the leaves disapeared. Curious, I then tried cold water. The color took longer to seap out.

Now it's time to get back outside and make a trip to the post to mail off an etsy order to New Hampshire and stop by the store for vinegar to start my copper liquor. And more ginger ale for my Jamison and gingers. I love these late at night. Always make me feel like I'm back in Ireland. Sigh... :)

Happy Tuesday and enjoy your day! 

ox, r