Red & Pink Dyes

Method:

• Heat dried or fresh flowers in water and reduced by half
• Add bicarbonate of Soda (pH8) = Orange
• Add Alum mordant to the dye (pH2) = Red

Method:

• 40g of ripe ivy berries are heated in 100g of white wine and 8g of powdered Gum Arabic, then reduced to 50g. The dye is then sieved through a fine mesh then reheated and reduced to 15g of dye. It is left to stand for a day.
• Add Alum mordant (pH2) = Reddish Purple

Cambridge Open Engage: Goats Blood, Tablets and Sacred Ivy

Method:

• Divide the petal from the fresh flowers and heat in water (pH8)
• Add Tin mordant (pH2) = Pink-Purple
• Add Potash mordant (pH12) = Light Pink

Method:

• Heat the ripe berries in water and reduced by half or more (pH3)
• Add Alum Mordant to the dye (pH4) = Reds & Pinks

Method:

• Soak the flowers over night and heat up and reduce down.
• Add Alum mordant dye (pH4) = Light Pinks & Reddish Pinks
• Add Potash Mordant (pH12) = Yellowish Tans
• Add Iron Sulphate (pH1) = Browns & Tans
• Add tin Mordant (pH2) = Pinks

Method:

• Heat poppy petals in white wine, reduce to 1/4 
• Add Alum mordant, Gum Arabic and isinglass (pH3) = Red Ink
• Add Tin mordant and a little chalk to the ink = Purple pigment
• Add the dye to china clay = Pink pigment
• Mix pigment with Gum Arabic or Egg White to make a paint

Method:

• Soak the roots over night and heat up gently in hard water for an hour keeping the temperature below 60ºC
• Add Alum mordant dye (pH4) = Reds & Pinks / Oranges
• The colour will vary depending on which material you use to dye
• The plant should be more than 3 years old before harvesting

Method:

• Crush the berries (pH7) with some water-vinegar 
• Add Alum mordant (pH2) = Blues / Violet Blue / Purple
• Add Tin mordant (pH1) = Reddish Purples