Mad Madder LAB – The Next Day

We’ll now delve into what to do with your pots & bundles after they’ve marinated overnight, from how to properly rinse to ways to modify your dyepots for new shades!

The break down:

Bundles have now soaked up dye from the dyepots & it’s time to rinse.
Process:
-Cover your space & wear gloves!
-Fill a bucket with some PH neutral soap & water.
-Remove bundle from dyepot, squeeze excess dye back into the bowl.
-Unbundle & wash each piece in the soapy water.
-Rinse soap away, Pieces are done when the water runs clear.
-Lay out in a single layer to dry. Keep out of direct sunlight.

Designer Tip:

Use a baker’s tray to carry around your bundles when they’re pulled apart, rinsed & ready to dry. 

 

The break down:

Due to keeping the dyepots as neutral as possible, we are now open to play with the PH balance of the pots… and CHANGE THE COLORS! We call the ingredients that change the PH balance modifiers. Our modifiers of choice are lemon juice (or vinegar) for the acid side of the scale & baking soda (or soda ash) for the base side of the scale. It’s as simple as separating the bath & adding minute amounts of a single modifier to the bath.

Once a desired (new) color is achieved, bring the bath back to a warm state (no need to re-simmer just make it warm) & submerge a new bundle. Your bundles should still soak 12+ hours. In addition to baking soda & lemon juice, rust water can be a great modifier… different than both. It also acts as an additional mordant! Keep track of your colors on a strip of watercolor paper.

Designer Tip:

If you’re not getting a big variety of color change… try a bit more modifier &/or mix a few together. This part of the process is uber experimental. Some modifiers will create insane color changes in your sources… like red cabbage, & some will create minute color shifts… like the logwood.

Supplies:

Here is a quick list of the supplies needed to work with modifiers. Check the intro page for possible links.

Modifiers

  • Lemon Juice (acid)
  • Vinegar (acid)
  • Baking Soda (base)
  • Chalk (base)
  • Soda Ash (base)
  • Rust Water

Other

  • Containers (either more bowls or jars)
  • Funnels
  • Pipettes

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