information on dying with pokeberries
source: Chemistry Caveman site.
Pokeberry makes an intense red dye. It is the original "garnet" of the Hampden-Sydney school colors. Without a mordant, however, pokeberry is not colorfast....use sodium carbonate (soda ash, washing soda) as a mordant.
Pick the berries from about half a dozen "heads" and place them in a pot or beaker with 250 mL of water. Make sure the berries are crushed, so that the juice colors the water. Heat the juice on a hotplate until it is hot to the touch, but not boiling. Boiling the juice will destroy the color.
Add 2 tbsp of washing soda to 250 mL of water in an iron pot or glass beaker and bring this to a boil. Immerse the wet yarn in the boiling soda solution until it turns from white to yellow. If you boil it too long, the wool will turn brittle. If your don't boil long enough, the dye will not be colorfast. Remove the yarn from the soda but do not rinse it out. Place your yarn in the hot pokeberry juice for 30 minutes. Remove the yarn from the juice and place it in a plastic bag to "stew in its juices" overnight. Then set it out to dry. You should find that the color does not wash out, even with soap and water.
Throw your berries and stems in the trash and pour your dye down the drain when you are finished. Wash any and all utensils with soap and water and leave the lab or kitchen area cleaner than when you found it.tags: sallet, poke, pokeweed, phytolacca americana
posted by dogs on trucks jr. @ 6:14 PM
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