Hedge dyeing

Ribes alpinum
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I’d promised somebody, I think it was Mary Jo, to do a dyepot of my hedge clippings. So now I have, truly the clippings, bits of twigs and all, as I’m in no mood or timeframe to pick off the leaves.

Worst case I’d get some boring yellow that can go into the green bin, right? (my green bin being skeins destined for indigo or woad).

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I was quite surprised to get up in the morning and find a red dyebath. So I did two skeins instead of one, as part of my “no mordant project”.

Now of course I wonder how a pH change works with this… But first, testing permanence, the hedge will grow back next year. I’m contemplating trying to dry some of it though.

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So, this is me a week later and I finally cut the last stretch of hedge. I’m really late this year, but so is everything else, right? 😉 And you know, all work and no play…

So I decided I would rib some leaves from my cuttings and throw in a skein. Amount: until I got hot and bored. Yarn: 25 g as usual. I do love my preskeined “tapestry yarn” for this.

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First skein, then another in the exhaust

Ribes Alpinum

Jeg blev bedt om at farve noget med mit hækafklip, og tænkte at det jo ikke kan gå værre end at det bliver kedeligt gul. Det kan sikkert bliver meget smukt med indigo ovenpå.

Så jeg blev lidt overrasket, da farvebadet var rødt! Og garnet orange. Så nu spekulerer jeg på, hvad pH ændringer kunne gøre. Men heldigvis vokser hækken jo ud igen til næste år, nu vil jeg lige teste farvens holdbarhed først.

Første billede er bejdset og ubejdset på hele kviste med blade og farven trukket ud med lidt base, det næste er bejdset på kun blade og rent vand, nederste er første sæt i fuld sol.

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first set full sun

 

7 thoughts on “Hedge dyeing

  1. I am ‘hedging’ my bet that you will try this again ; ) not quite sure my pun works out(lack of sleep I think)
    I love your ‘hedged bet’ yarn – the colors are fantastic. I admire how you go about your dyeing so scientific and all. I tell myself I will take accurate notes and use a thermometer but …… the mad scientist wins out and I take scatter-brained notes and just have fun in the yard.
    ps that is one great looking current bush.

    1. Well, I never did take notes the first year, but the blog has really helped me structure things. I have no idea, though, why it seems more important when I’m informing others besides myself.

  2. I completely forgot to mention the reason for my 2nd try, I wanted to see if it was the twig bits that made the red dyebath. But it wasn’t.

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