Natural Dyeing - now with Kermes!
Kermes! A nifty little insect dye that is interesting to work with, once one gets over the ick factor. And the fact that it kind of stinks.
I cooked up a batch of kermes, then threw in a square of white linen. It turned a surprising shade of purplish pink. eh? I was expecting something redder, but I like this funky purplish pink a whole bunch too.
I used an alum mordant. I was toying with the idea of busting out some iron liquor from my stores to use as a modifier. I decided against this because I like the color, obnoxious as it may be, just as it is.
Wool yarn from the same dye bath, also mordanted in alum. Now this is the shade I was expecting! I'm always in awe of the way certain fibres pick up different colors from the same dye, and it is one of my favorite things about dyeing. Again, I like the color too much to modify it in any way, so the iron liquor (and all of my other liquors) remain untouched for now. This is ok, as the various and sundry liquors can be stored indefinitely. I'll use them eventually.
Because kermes is all kinds of period, and because it works so quickly, producing such vibrant shades, I'm thinking of doing a natural dyeing class for children using kermes. Must try this out on a group of children first to see how well it would work as a group activity.
Please note: because I love children, there will be no urine vat used in the making of this class. Besides. I'm saving the urine for the woad.
Edited to add: I may want to use cochineal (another red-producing insect dye, also period) for a kids class. Easier to acquire, and slightly bolder color output.