Dye Experiments with Iris
I wanted to try a few quick experiments with the Iris in my garden. I went in to it without researching and with the basic process I always do when experimenting with a new plant or flower. This is just harvest a random amount, fill the pot with water and start to cook it! At that point, it becomes an intuitive thing because I watch how the dye bath is forming. If it is developing color quickly, generally I will take it off the burner or keep it at a lower temperature. Some dye baths will turn brown at higher temperatures, so it is important to be with the dye bath the whole time and make a call based on how the color is looking.
Harvesting Purple Iris
I used some recycled silk ribbon that I mordanted with alum (Potassium Aluminum Sulfate) before doing the experiment. I have a ton of it so I mordanted the whole batch. When I do these experiments, I can just cut off a piece easily and stick it into the bath I’m working with.
I have three colors of Iris - yellow and white, purple and light blue and red. I know from working with flowers, the darker the color, the more likely it will be a rich dye. I first experimented with the purple and light blue Iris - I was shocked at how beautiful it turned out!! A beautiful sea foam green!!! I was shook for days. I had to try the red Iris! As I was cooking down the red Iris, the color of the bath started turning a purple/blue color. I was not expecting the silk to turn a robin egg blue! When I dyed with the yellow and white Iris, I got what I was expecting - a sweet pastel yellow. Not as exciting as the others but still bright and beautiful.
Purple Iris on silk
Harvested Red Iris
Left - Purple Iris
Right - Red Iris
This experiment was so satisfying. It was so shocking to have the Iris make these colors and I’m sure the aluminum mordant also had something to do with it. If I didn’t mordant the silk (which should be another experiment), the colors could be drastically different. I’m excited to further my experiments this year with my new garden. I have wisteria, clematis and some others that will be coming up over the summer that I look forward to dyeing with.
