Dyeing

The following series of posts will be the "lab report" portion of my little project (fiasco).

First challenge can I figure out how to post spreadsheets to this thing?

I. Dyeing

A. Goods to be dyed

i. 3lbs of silk top

ii. 1lb of silk hankies

iii. 3 yards of silk habotai for lining

B. Prep

i. Tie up top in 1 yard long bundles

Next time weigh out the bundles.

ii. Put silk hankies in a mesh bag

Next time don't use the mesh bag. It compacts the hankies too much for even circulation.

iii. Soak all silk overnight with dawn and a splash of vinegar.

iv. Remove from dawn solution and transfer to clear water.

v. Soak all silk in a 4.5 pH citric acid solution for 10-15minutes.

C. Calculate amount of dye to be used.

D. Prep dye baths

i. Note to self. Next time immerse the goods in cold dye bath so the dye saturates the goods evenly. Then bring up to heat. Oh well.

E. Immerse in hot baths. Check temperature and stir occasionally.

F. Check for color and exhaustion. May have to add more dye or more citric acid.

G. Remove from heat.

H. Remove from bath and let dry.

Observations:

The dye did

not take evenly. Next time soak the goods in cold dye for an hour. Then place on heat and simmer.

The fabric was much more evenly dyed.

The hankies and at least one of the bundles of top will need to be overdyed.

The fabric will need to be overdyed for more depth of color.

Round Two

In the second round over dyeing the silk hankies. I sorted the hankie

s into piles of ones that needed overdyeing and ones that were ok. I soaked the ones to be re dyed overnight. The next day I placed the hankies in a 4.5pH citric acid solution for 20 minutes. Then I added the dye to the dye pot and placed the hankies in the pot of cold water and let everything soak for about an hour. Once the dye had a chance to circulated. I heated the pots and let them simmer at around 180 degrees F for about 2o minutes stirring occasionally and checking for how much the dye had exhausted.

This time the dye saturated the whole lot much better. The hankies are currently drying.