Monday, September 16, 2024

Natural Dyeing: Hardy Hibiscus (With Copper Mordant)

I know I said I was done with hibiscus flower dyeing, but they are still blooming profusely and I couldn't resist trying it with a different mordant. The first time I tried it with alum and cream of tartar, the second time with no mordant, and this time with copper as the mordant. Directions for mordanting fiber or yarn with copper can be found here.

Preparing the dyepot

I followed the same procedure as previously, but I scaled down the amounts.

For this experiment, I used 4 ounces of hibiscus flowers
  • Amounts
    • 4 ounces fresh hibiscus flowers
    • 4 ounces clean, mordanted fiber
  • Pour boiling water over the flowers
  • Simmer flowers for about 30 minutes.
  • Strain

Dyeing the fiber
  • Add the wet, mordanted fiber to the dyebath. 
  • Heat to a simmer
  • Simmer 30 to 60 minutes
  • Let steep until cool (I left it overnight)
  • Wash with a bit of mild detergent and rinse until no more color exhausts from the fiber.
Results

And to compare, here are my previous hibiscus dyeing experiments.

Left: hibiscus with alum mordant. Center: undyed. Right: hibiscus without mordant.

So, apparently I can get silver and gold from hardy hibiscus flowers, but not what the natural dye books say, which is purple.
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