Showing posts with label dye. Show all posts

21 November 2011

cloud forest natural dye workshop


A few (okay, a great many) photos from a four day excursion into the cloud forest two weeks ago, to learn how to use natural dyes with Awamaki's master weaver Daniel Sonquo and his lovely family. 


We left Ollanta at 4 AM and caught a fruit truck in nearby Calca - minus the fruit, fortunately, but plus about twenty people, a box of baby chickens, and some furniture.


Parobamba itself is a small town with amazing views. Our first day there, we went for a hike down to Daniel's family chakra (farmland), collected some dye supplies and met his bees: 



... and hung out with his awesome sons, Acknar (8) and Nilson (12). These guys definitely vied with our host brother Pierro for awesomest kids in Peru. 


Once the supplies were collected, we went back to the Sonquo's home and spent the next 48 hours boiling vats of yarn with cochineal, leaves, other leaves, tree bark and fungus:



... with help from (or at least the company of) Nilson and Acknar, of course... 







Daniel's wife Leonarda still managed to get quite a lot of weaving in as well. Their collaborative works are some of the most beautiful things sold in the Awakami store, and we were able to buy a few things from them directly, which was exciting (actually, I was even able to commission a gorgeous, half-woven piece with the tools still in it - hard to describe but so, so pretty) 



By the time we were done, we had a staggering array of colors in an even more staggering amount of three kilos of yarn per person, which, even for me, is quite a lot of yarn. Fortunately, I was able to find a home for most of it back in Ollantaytambo - the rest is sitting next to me in a flour sack here in our hotel in Cusco, waiting to be taken to the post office, because there is no way I can carry it all with me throughout South America! 



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08 June 2010

citric acid and saran wrap


 above: (yes, that's an old copy from New English File Elementary mopping up the kelly green)

A couple weeks ago, I got it into my head that it would be an awesome idea to start trying to hand-paint my own yarn. I love variegated yarns, mostly because I have a very finite attention span while knitting and the changes in color keep me from getting bored; also, I love any activity that requires one to commandeer the kitchen (sorry, Iain) and make a huge mess. Anyway, it seemed like a good idea, even if the last time I dyed anything was ten years ago and I walked around with purple hands for a few days afterwards.


above: the impressively sculptural tower of saran wrap in the middle is so I can neatly wrap up the yarn afterwards.

I've been intrigued by the possibility of making your own natural dyes ever since I watched an old lady in Laos dye a skein of silk red with a handful of crushed nutshells. But it turns out, natural dying is a pretty big (and not as safe as you might think) undertaking to set up in a tiny, temporary kitchen, so, after a quick foray around the internet, I decided to go with acid dyes instead, as they seem relatively low-impact and not terrible for your health, provided you don't snort the dye powder, which is why I am wearing this incredibly fetching dust mask below:



Above: ...and now it's on the internet to be preserved forever and ever! 

So last week I dyed two small skeins to get a feel for the whole process. Sexy mask aside, the painting (pictured above) is definitely fun, creative, and well worth the prep-time. I did go a little overboard on the variegation the first time around, but at least I learned what not to do next time. 



Above: hooray for the 100 yen shop for selling me cheap dyeing utensils. 

After painting, I steamed the yarn in the saran wrap for 30 minutes before rinsing it out. The green skein, above, was a bit too neon for my taste, so I put it back in the dye pot with some dark green dye in hopes of muting the color a bit. 


Afterwards, the green washed out quite a bit - I'm not sure if it's because the green skein is silk (whereas the red was wool) or because of that last-minute decision to over-dye the whole thing darker, or what. But at least it won't stop traffic now and there's a chance someone might want to wear it. 


The red skein came out much more vividly - a bit too vivid and with too many changes in color for my personal tastes. Still, it was a lot of fun - I can't wait to do it again! 

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