Ruqayyah Snyder
False indigo (Baptisia australis) is a hardy perennial shrub with pea-like flowers that can be used to create a dye. Native Americans and settlers used to obtain blue dye from the plant's leaves. To make the dye, one must chop up the leaves and stalks and put them in a pot of water. The dye, however, will be green rather than blue. To obtain a blue dye, one must use a different variety of the plant, namely Baptisia tinctoria, which contains indigotin.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Dye colour | Pale blue, not a substitute for true indigo |
| Plant colour | Blue flowers |
| Dye method | Boiling in water with mordanted wool |
| Dye material | Leaves and stalks |
| Dye source | Native Americans and settlers |
| Dye use | Dyeing fibres |
| Dye quantity | 6.5-litre slow cooker for 250g of wool |
| Dye temperature | 90 degrees |
| Dye duration | 30 minutes |
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What You'll Learn
Baptisia Australis yields a pale blue dye
Baptisia Australis, also known as False Indigo, yields a pale blue dye. It is a hardy perennial shrub with beautiful pea-like blue flowers and distinctive foliage. Native Americans and settlers used to create blue dyes from the leaves.
To make a dye that adheres to fabric, the indigo solution must be reduced by removing oxygen from the pot. This changes the substance to "indigo white", which will stick to the fabric. However, when the fabric is removed from the vat, the dye oxidises and turns blue. It is important to be careful when handling the fabric and not to introduce air into the bath. Gloves should be worn to prevent hands from turning blue.
There are several ways to remove oxygen from the solution. One method is to use the reducing agent thiorea dioxide (Thiox or thiourea dioxide). Alternatively, urine can be used instead of baking soda and Thiox. The urine provides the necessary alkalinity and also ferments, depleting oxygen from the solution.
When dyeing with Baptisia Australis, it is important to note that it is not a substitute for true indigo and will not produce the same intense blue colour. It is also worth mentioning that the dyeing process may require specialised equipment, such as slow cookers or an outside propane cooker, and seeds can be sourced from websites like www.horizonherbs.com.
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Chop up the leaves and stalks and cover with water
To make dye from Baptisia Australis, start by chopping up the leaves and stalks of the plant. Place the chopped leaves and stalks in a pot and cover them with water. This will create a dye that produces a green colour, as opposed to Baptisia Tinctoria, which contains indigotin and produces blue.
The next step is to heat the pot containing the chopped leaves, stalks, and water. This will release the dye from the plant material and create a coloured solution. The longer the solution is heated, the more concentrated the colour will become. However, be careful not to let the solution boil, as this may affect the final colour.
While the dye is heating, prepare the fabric or fibre that you intend to dye. It is important to ensure that the material is able to absorb the dye effectively. This may involve pre-treating the fabric with a process called mordanting, which helps to improve the colour absorption and colourfastness of the final product.
Once the dye solution has reached the desired colour intensity, you can carefully remove the pot from the heat source. Using tongs or heat-resistant gloves, remove the plant material from the solution, straining it if necessary to remove any remaining solids.
Now you are ready to begin the dyeing process. Carefully submerge the prepared fabric or fibre into the dye bath, ensuring that it is completely covered by the liquid. Allow it to soak for a period of time, occasionally stirring or agitating the dye bath to ensure even colour distribution.
Finally, remove the fabric or fibre from the dye bath and allow it to dry. The length of time required for drying will depend on the type of material and the thickness of the item being dyed. Once dry, you will have successfully created a naturally dyed product using Baptisia Australis!
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Boil in water with mordanted wool
To make dye from Baptisia Australis, you can boil the leaves and stalks in water and use this to dye wool. The dye from Baptisia Australis is typically green, but can also be a light blue.
To achieve a blue colour, you can try using alum-mordanted wool. Mordanting is the process of treating a fibre to fix the dye and can be done with alum, chrome, or iron. In this case, the wool is treated with alum before being dyed with the boiled Baptisia Australis leaves.
The process of mordanting wool typically involves soaking the wool in a solution of alum and water, then simmering it in a dye bath. In this case, the dye bath would be the boiled Baptisia Australis leaves. The length of time the wool is simmered will affect the final colour, with longer simmering times resulting in a deeper colour.
It is important to note that the dye from Baptisia Australis is not as intense as true indigo, so the resulting colour may be a light blue or blue-green.
Additionally, the type of wool and the amount of dye plant used will affect the final colour. For example, a larger batch of wool will require a larger quantity of dye plant material to achieve a more concentrated colour.
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Use a slow cooker to dye wool
Using a slow cooker to dye wool is a great option if you only need to dye a small amount of yarn or wool, or if you don't have a lot of space. It is also a safer option as there is no risk of accidentally felting your wool.
Firstly, you will need to get your hands on a slow cooker. You can usually find these in thrift stores, but you can also buy a new one. Make sure you get one with a keep-warm facility, which will keep it at 90 degrees Celsius. This will be big enough to dye around 250g of wool. It is also important to note that you should not use the same slow cooker for dyeing that you use for cooking food.
Next, you will need to prepare your wool. Using a large stainless steel bowl, weigh out your wool on a milligram scale. Then, soak the wool in the bowl. You can use a mesh colander to make it easier to soak, wash and rinse the wool.
Now, prepare your dye bath. For this, you will need to chop up the leaves and stalks of the Baptisia Australis plant and put them, covered with water, in the slow cooker. You can also use food colouring or Kool-Aid drink powder, which is essentially food colouring with citric acid mixed in. If you are using powder, you can sprinkle it on or dissolve it first. The key is to get enough dye to cover the wool but not so much that it can't be completely absorbed.
Once your dye bath is ready, you can add your wool. If you are using the hot/faster striking method, the yarn and water should be hot when you apply the dye. This will make the dye adhere more quickly. If you are using the slow striking method, you can apply the dye to cool or warm yarn and water, which will give the dye more time to move around before adhering. Use bamboo skewers to stir the dye and poke at the wool. You can also use tongs to move the wool around inside the pot and to pull it out when it's done.
Finally, remove the wool from the dye bath and place it in the large stainless steel bowl to cool. You can use the mesh colander to make this process easier.
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Use a reduction vat to get blues from the plant
False indigo (Baptisia Australis) is a plant that can be used to create dyes. To get blues from the plant, you can use a reduction vat. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to do this:
Prepare the Plant
Firstly, you need to prepare the Baptisia Australis plant. Chop up the leaves and stalks and put them in a pot, covered with water. You can also use slow cookers, but make sure they have a keep-warm function to maintain a temperature of 90 degrees Celsius. The size of your cooker or pot will depend on the amount of dye you want to make and the bulkiness of the fabric you want to colour.
Soak the Fabric
Before dyeing, it is important to soak the fabric in the dye for around 20 minutes. Then, gently remove it and let it oxidise by hanging it on a wooden rack. The fabric will turn blue as it reacts with the oxygen in the air.
Prepare the Vat
To create a reduction vat, you need to remove the oxygen from the pot. This changes the substance to "indigo white". The reducing agent thiorea dioxide (also called Thiox or thiourea dioxide) is used to remove oxygen and change the indigo to indigo white.
Dye the Fabric
When adding the fabric to the vat, ensure it is squeezed to avoid introducing air into the bath. Gently stir the fabric in the vat, and when removing it, place your hand underneath to gently lift it out, again avoiding introducing oxygen. As the fabric is removed from the vat and exposed to the air, the dye will oxidise and turn indigo blue.
Repeat as Needed
One dipping and airing is usually enough to create a rich blue colour on wool yarn. However, for more intense colours on cotton or silk, repeat the soaking and airing process two or more times. You can use the same dyebath for successive batches of fabric, but the colour will become lighter each time.
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Frequently asked questions
Baptisia Australis yields a pale blue dye.
Chop up the leaves and stalks and put them, covered with water, in a pot to dye.
False Indigo (Baptisia Tinctoria), Woad, and Japanese Indigo.
First, make an indigo solution by dissolving indigo in an alkaline solution, such as those made with lye, baking soda, ammonia, urine, or washing soda. Then, reduce the solution by removing the oxygen from the pot, changing the substance to "indigo white". When adding fibre or fabric to the dye vat, make sure it's squeezed so that you don't introduce air into the bath.
