#yarnmaking

[unidentifiedmammal]

Alrighty so this is the post on lichen dyes!

this particular bath of lichen dyes was originally started over a year ago scraping a tentatively-ID'd lecanora and/or ochrolechia genus lichen off of a fallen branch (remember, don't gather lichen when it's still growing! it's very slow growing and easy to overharvest)

to start off, this particular type of dye is made through the ammonia-fermentation method, also known as ammonia maceration. No actual bacterial fermentation occurs though. Rather, the compound orcinol (and precursor compound to orcinols) react with ammonia (N2) and oxygen to form the compound orcein (also called orchil/archil) which is what makes the final dye!

this process takes anywhere from 3 weeks to 16+ weeks depending on the lichen species, its constituent acids, the temperature, and the frequency of aeration.

This batch was set aside for several months and neglected a good bit, but it still works. I strained out the crumbled lichens (which i set aside for later) and diluted it 1:4 as instructed by a very good book called Lichen Dyes: The New Source Book by Karen Diadick Casselman. This book is basically omnipresent everywhere you see lichen dyes mentioned, especially the orcein-based dyes. I also used several websites/videos/papers and such that i've hunted down over various internet crawls.

I use an old coffee pot for this as it's both a non-reactive material (glass) and is built to withstand heat. Ironically i also scraped the lichens off the branch using a tool i made out of a metal band from the broken handle of this same coffee pot!

I decided to dye some eri silk cakes that i fluffed up and scoured. these have been very good at absorbing dye in the past so i would hopefully get a good result from them. As lichens are a substantive dye i don't have to put a mordant on them, but i did soak them in an alum solution just before adding them to the dye bath to hopefully maximize dye uptake as well as improve fastness as lichen dyes are also fugitive and can fade in sunlight.

Substantive dyes contain mordants already embedded in them; fugitive dyes are a bit fuzzy to me but my understanding is they end up trapped in the fiber instead of actually bonding to the fiber in a stronger way. Mordants are used to help the dye "bite" onto the fiber better, improving both fastness (the ability of a due to resist fading from sunlight/washing/time) and the brightness of a color. Alum is useful in that it typically doesn't affect the end color of a dye more than simply making it slightly more strong!

it was pretty successful i'd say! i warmed up the dyebath, added the silk, let it simmer for a few hours, let it cool down overnight, and then warmed it back up the next day for a few hours; then, when it cooled, i took it out, let it dry, then rinsed it, and let it dry a second time. At that point, it was ready for spinning!

It was a lovely pink color that's not fully captured by the camera like most dyes, and eri silk is lovely because you can spin the clouds directly and easily without carding and make lovely relatively threadlike yarn

this was the first skein i got! i love how shiny the silk is. Some dyes can get really purple or even magenta-like!

next, i had the leftover lichens that i had set aside. They were a crumbly texture and dark black and i dried them out, crushed them up more, set them back in a jar, added more ammonia and water, and did the ammonia fermentation method a second time! this was after reading about the method for making french purple, and while this is definitely a very pale imitation of the method, the double-soak is the key feature here

here it is (on the left); it was already way darker purple than an in-progress lichen dye i had yet to crack open and use

speaking of which, heres a shot of various test lichens i had while working on this, you can see the blue-capped jar that has the second-soaked lichens. the foam will often give a preview of whether or not the dye will be red/purple or not!

Here it is, i forget how long i let it soak but i think it was a bit over a week. i strained the material out, diluted it, and then repeated the same warm/cool/warm/cool/dry/rinse/dry method with more eri silk

And below you can see the difference, it's definitely slight but still cool!

the left is from the original dyebath, the right is the second-soaked one. the first one is more salmon-colored while the second is a tad more blue-purpled!

I'm extremely excited about this, these dyes have such a fascinating history and have multiple historical uses everywhere from florentine orchil to norwegian korkje to scottish cudbear and more, and it was often used in tandem with the roman murex/tyrian purple dyes that come from a mussel. Some folks used the lichens to pre-dye the fabric before dyeing with tyrian purple, both to stretch the expensive tyrian purple and to make the end color more vibrant. It's all such a great topic that's mightily confusing and could take up a post of its own, same with the underlying chemistry of what makes these dyes work in the first place!

Anyways that's all for this post, i have more i'm working on involving actually turning these dyes into paint that i'll hopefully turn into a post on its own soon! I've also got other lichen dyes I'm waiting to get through the ammonia fermentation process that will hopefully give other colors, whenever that may be!

[alpacafarmhand]

I'm back! Here's a little peek at what I've been working on 👀

[jessylostherpen]

Working on something fun today. #spinning #ashfordkiwi3 #spinningwheel #weekendproject #yarnmaking https://www.instagram.com/p/Che_ZO8sd65/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[fiber-art-studio-tour]

Thanks to everyone who came out this weekend for our October tour! Photo credit is from Withers Wool. Pictured are woven, knit, free-form, crochet, mixed media wearable pieces made by Kathy. We thought it was a good time to remind folks as we head into the greater holiday shopping time frame that each stop always has tons of yarn, but we all have lots of other fun things at different stops too. Scattered among us you may discover: • Hats, scarves, gloves, cowls • Art pieces, needle felting • Notions, bags, lotion, socks • Patterns, kits, samples • Advent & multi-cultural ornaments • Handspun, top and roving Ya kno what else…. You get us! We’re always happy to help, find a color with you, answer your questions, or share in your accomplishments! See you next month! #fiberartstudiotour #localartist #fiberartist #yarnmaker #creative #creativeholidays #madeforyou #marylandsmallbusiness #yarn #marylandartist #marylandyarnshop https://www.instagram.com/p/Cjgj5Aupknv/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[avalonspringsfarm]

Made some yarn this week. I was reminded of my Thunderbow series I used to do. I enjoy making those, so I made some more. Pictured here in Pendragon yarn, DK weight. #avalonspringsfarm #makingyarn #ilovecolor #yarnlove #colorlove #yarnmaker #handdyedyarn #yarn #marylandartist #marylandyarnshop #yarnyarnyarn #knitknitknit (at Avalon Springs Farm) https://www.instagram.com/p/ChNB8GdLwQn/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[luminessdoodles]

i'm still thinking about a name for my yuu btw :0 it might make more sense to give him a word name bc he's a monster like grim, but if i do decide to give him a japanese name i think it'll be yuubou with the 紡 kanji for the second half!! might also end up never naming him and letting him be yuu forever lol

[spin2knitdesigns]

Green tweed singles. 🧶🧶🧶 #spin2knit #handspunyarn #wool 🐑🐑🐑 #yarnmaker #chicoca #chicocalifornia https://www.instagram.com/p/CoDL-L8PJQH/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[mxmaxknix]

AYYY what's got two thumbs and just got their Electric Spinning Wheel? 👍😎👍

Is me... Cha'boi. It's been. A metric fucklong time.... I had to order a cord separately because mine didnt come with I guess? But it spins nicely and I'm psyched to get to relearn on a wheel. My poor shoulders. They can know rest, at last.

Electric Eel Wheel Nano, made by Dreaming Robots

[vexcrochet]

The one I've been waiting for!!! Learning how to make yarn, I'm so excited! . . . #crochetaddict #crochet #craft #dropspindle #dropspindlebasics #emfcamp #emf #emfcamp2018 #yarnmaking #yarn #newskills #workshop #hackspace #leedshackspace https://www.instagram.com/p/BnOXB7KAs3O/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1ktbbo212t2xc

[knitsilk]

Anamika Silk Yarns - 500 yards / 100 grams #silk #yarn #yarnwindings #yarnaddict #knitting #crochet #yarnporn #instayarn #knitsilk #yardsofhappiness #yarnmaking #indiedyersofig #tiedye #dyersofinstagram #puresilk #silkyarns #hhcologne #fiberart #fibre (at Luxembourg, Luxembourg) https://www.instagram.com/p/CbTIjz_o3Qg/?utm_medium=tumblr

[wildwhimsicalweirdo]

More hand made yarn! All created using a drop spindle and scraps from @chameleonfiberco and The Fiber Queen on Etsy. These are my first three “mini skeins”. I’m in love with how creative I can get with colors doing this 😍#yarnspinning #yarnlove #spinningwool #yarnmakesmehappy #yarnmaking #dropspindle #dothethingsyoulove https://www.instagram.com/p/CM5qW_-n7PG/?igshid=wwpg73pgtc45

[meganerisk]

Finally feeling human again after being sick, so I decided to blend up some rolags, dust off Woolfgang and take him for a spin (HAHA SEE WHAT I DID). Alpaca wool, alpaca locks, and merino wool. #spinningwheel #spinningyarn #yarnspinning #yarnlover #yarnaddict #yarnnerd #yarnmaking #alpaca #fiberart #fiberartist https://www.instagram.com/p/B7o5eHFpikY/?igshid=1c3ayswb3n088

[jessylostherpen]

So, I’ve picked up a new hobby: #dropspindle yarn making. It’s so satisfying to create your own yarn and it doesn’t have to be complicated. I bought a kit from Etsy that included some mystery roving with the drop spindle and spent the afternoon making this extra chunky yarn. I can’t wait to put it into something. #craft #yarn #diycrafts #yarnmaking #dropspindlespinning #yarnlover https://www.instagram.com/p/CgsmbUsOmm3/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[fiber-art-studio-tour]

Hello, it’s US! The people you’ll meet on the @fiberartstudiotour We are the proprietors, artists, farmers, workers, creators, indie-dyers, producers, makers at each of our stops and shops on the tour. (R to L) MEET: Lisa @flyinggoatfarm in Frederick, MD Marc @withers.wool in Woodbine, MD Karen @avalonspringsfarm in Mount Airy, MD Linda @colorstorms.yarn in Highland, MD Wae @colorwae_fiberarts in New Market, MD Dalis @dancingleaffarm in Barnesville, MD In keeping with the #februarychallenge we offer a warm and welcoming Hello! Come see us soon for the February tour 02/11/23 from 11am till 4pm. #fiberartstudiotour #fiberartists #yarnshop #yarnproducer #yarnmaker #yarndyer #flyinggoatfarm #witherswoolfarm #avalonspringsfarm #colorstorms #colorwaefiberarts #dancingleaffarm https://www.instagram.com/p/CoKcAGprUfz/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[avalonspringsfarm]

Thank you to everyone who came out in the super hot humid weather for the @fiberartstudiotour today! It was a true delight to meet new folks and reconnect with old. I love seeing what everyone is working on! (And can’t tell ya how happy I was to have the new HVAC in the shop! Whoo hoo!) #avalonspringsfarm #openshop #fiberartstudio #fiberartist #yarnshop #openstudio #indiedyedyarn #fiberfarm #yarnmaker #localyarn (at Avalon Springs Farm) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cd1lrtHppXg/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[placesyoucallhome]

Ah... that's a bad omen for the day isn't it?