Читать книгу A Garden to Dye For - Chris McLaughlin - Страница 16

Modifiers brighten, darken or change the color of a dyebath, but they don’t help the color adhere to the fibers. Like almost everything, there are exceptions to the rule. One exception is iron, which acts as both a mordant and a modifier and will “sadden” (deepen) the original dye color.

I like to use modifiers as an “afterbath” for my dyed fibers. The modifier pot is an endless source of entertainment as far as I’m concerned. Surprises are guaranteed, so keep some of these bad boys around to play with.

Here’s a tease for when you’re all set up and starting to experiment:

If you’d like to see what happens with an acidic modifier, try dipping your fabric or fiber into a white vinegar or lemon juice solution. Make a modifier after-dip by filling a non-reactive pot or bowl with ¼ cup of vinegar or lemon juice. I usually dilute these with a little water (I don’t measure it), but you can also use both with their full strength.

Or you can go the opposite direction on the scale and use an alkaline modifier, like baking soda or ammonia.

Modifiers will bring more shades to the natural dye palette.

Baking soda is my go-to modifier because it’s always in the cupboard by my stove. To modify the original bath with just the baking soda, I add 1 teaspoon to the pot. If I wanted to try a different modifier with this dyebath, I’d pour half of it into another pot and add the baking soda to one of them – leaving the remaining to use with a different modifier.

I use ammonia differently. I put really hot tap water into a non-reactive bowl (it’s usually glass) and about ½ cup of ammonia into the bowl. Then I add my just-dyed fibers to the bowl and swish them around. Presto-change-o! If it doesn’t look like anything is changing, add more ammonia.