BIOCHROMES

YEAR2024

KINDGROUP

CATEGORYFABRICADEMY

FUNCTIONCOOKING, CUTTING AND DYEING

In today's world, sustainability in design and craftsmanship is more important than ever. In the BioChromes class, part of the Fabricademy curriculum, we dived into the world of natural color, learning how to embrace environmentally friendly dyeing practices using organic waste, plants, and microorganisms.

What Are BioChromes?

BioChromes refer to the natural pigments found in flora, fauna, and even microorganisms. These natural pigments not only offer vibrant and diverse color options but also introduce sustainable solutions to the often harmful practices of synthetic dyeing.

Traditional synthetic dyes have long been linked to the environmental degradation caused by toxic waste and harmful chemicals. However, BioChromes offer an exciting alternative, allowing us to harvest and use natural resources such as plants, insects, fungi, and bacteria for coloring textiles.

Hands On Learning: From Organic Waste to Color

One of the most interesting aspects of the BioChromes course was how hands-on and interactive it was. We each collected materials such as leaves, fruit peels, vegetable scraps, and even tea to explore the world of natural dyes. It was fascinating to experiment with adjusting pH levels and temperatures, all while using natural mordants to create a wide array of colors.

For example, red cabbage proved to be very versatile, producing everything from bright purples to soft blues depending on whether it was paired with alum, lemon, or iron.

Beyond fabric dyeing, we were also introduced to the making of pigments and inks. Leftover dye baths didn't go to waste; instead, we transformed them into sustainable pigments. By combining dye residues with alum and baking soda, the leftover materials became unique pigments that could be used for different projects.

Materials & Tools

Creating natural dyes requires specific tools and materials. The ones we used include pots for heating, measuring cups and spoons, strainers and protective gloves. For more precise work, it will be needed a scale and pH testing strips.

Key ingredients are divided into three categories: mordants (like alum and iron) which fix dyes to fabric, tannins such as oak which occur naturally in plants, and pH modifiers (including lemon, vinegar, and sodium bicarbonate) which alter colors.

Step by Step

The natural dyeing process begins with proper preparation. First is necessary to weigh and cut the fabric, then scour it based on its type. Silk needs just a warm water rinse, while cotton, viscose, and linen require a one-hour soak with sodium carbonate.

After this it's needed to calculate the mordant amounts around 12% alum for bright colors or 1% iron for darker shades. The dyeing process itself involves simmering the fabric for 60 minutes.

Don't forget hanging to dry ;)

Natural Dye

Red cabbage offered versatile color options: able to get pink with 200ml dye bath plus 6 teaspoons lemon juice, purple using 200ml dye bath with 12% alum, or dark blue by adding 1% iron to 200ml dye bath.

Eucalyptus creates earth tones: light yellow using 350ml dye bath with half a lemon, golden with 350ml dye bath plus 20g alum, or gray by adding 1/2 teaspoon iron to 200ml dye bath.

Reflections

Even though Global Classes were interesting and nice to listen to, I don't think that this seminar aligned with my research add anything to me or any of my MDEF classmates. The history lessons and the idea of coloring with almost anythin was really engaging and interesting (even though having it last year would have made it way more interesting) but i feel like I did a course that wasn't useful at all this year.