difference between scotch broom and sweet broom

Left to right: Chamomile flowers, broom, apple leaves, chamomile (whole plant), weld, sumac, grape leaves Left to right: Chamomile flowers, broom, apple leaves, chamomile (whole plant), weld, sumac, grape leaves Palette of color on cotton with the use of chalk. Palette of color on cotton without the addition of chalk. The grape leaves and the sumac, which were the most acidic, destroyed the mordant in the cellulose and only the tannins that are present in the leaf were able to attach and color the fabric. The high acidity of some baths made without the chalk was enough to damage the mordant significantly. The cellulose samples are especially notable. It will require more tests and explorations to confirm this. I asked Joy about this and she indicated that is was possible that some of the acids disappear in the drying process. When I used dried weld plants, the chalk made very little difference. When dyeing with the fresh weld plants, deeper yellow hues resulted with the addition of chalk. The only exception was dried weld, which was used at 50% w.o.f. In every case, I achieved deeper and brighter yellows colors when the chalk was added to the fresh plant baths. Individual samples on the left had chalk added to the bath. Weld baths: no chalk on left, chalk added on right plantĭyer’s chamomile (Anthemis tinctoria) (flowers)ĭyer’s chamomile (Anthemis tinctoria) (whole plant) The chalk will alter the appearance of the bath from transparent to cloudy and nearly opaque. Each dye bath was approximately 4 liters and I added about 1 TBS of chalk. The pH was measured again after the addition of chalk. I almost always use dried plants and I rarely add chalk with weld on cotton but frequently add it to a wool bath.Īfter boiling the plant material I recorded the pH of the decoction. We often think of sumac as a good source of tannin but the leaves, according to Dominique Cardon, are also rich in flavonoids. I used the flowers and after gathering a basket of the small flowers I tested the dye content in the entire plant. Dyer’s Chamomile (Anthemis tinctoria).The results were quite surprising (but also very consistent) and made me realize that I have likely not been achieving the maximum amount of color from some of my local dyes. Chalk was added to only one of the baths. After making the dye decoction, I divided the dye bath in two equal portions and added both wool and cotton to each bath. The cotton was mordanted using tannin plus alum and soda ash. Since my own broom (Genista tinctoria) is currently in need of a serious trim, I began a series of flavonoid dye tests with that and then compared other dyes from my garden and environs. Within reason, there is no possibility of having too much chalk and any excess will simply precipitate in the bath and rinse out of the fabric Chalk is not an alkaline but will neutralize an acid that is present. This will do no damage to the dye or the textile. The remedy: Add a small amount of chalk (calcium carbonate) to the dye bath to neutralize the acid that is present.

The mordant would be damaged and little dye attaches. This is exactly the reason why we don’t add an acid to a cochineal bath when dyeing cellulose. In fact, the mordant in the cotton can be damaged or even removed if the bath is acidic enough. When the plants are boiled in our already acidic water, the pH of the dyebath becomes so low that the dye may struggle to attach to the mordant in the fiber. Instead, the mordant is deposited as an insoluble compound on the textile.Īn additional issue is that many of our local plants are acidic.

This lake is formed most readily in neutral or slightly alkaline conditions.Īn alum mordant makes a very strong bond with wool but there is no chemical bond between cellulose and the mordant. When the dye meets the mordant in a textile, an insoluble lake is formed. She struggled to get the locally gathered dyes to attach to her textiles, especially onto mordanted cotton.

A student in the class was especially interested in gathering local plants for use as a dye source. Last summer Joy Boutrup and I taught a class together at Penland School of Crafts, located near my home in western North Carolina. Some of the dyes may also contain some tannin or other colorants but the yellow is what we’re talking about here. That means that they require a mordant in order to attach to the textile. Most of the yellow dyes in my garden, or those that I might gather locally, are flavonoids. There is no iron or other minerals that might dull the colors. It measures about pH 6.0 here in the mountains of North Carolina. First of all, I know that my well water is acidic.

Difference between scotch broom and sweet broom