Symonne de la Croix

                        Weld Dye/Lake             By Lady Symonne de la Croix                              29.3.20 20gm Weld (dried and crushed) 2lt Demineralised Water (pH 6.8) 1tsp Calcium Carbonate (chalk,eggshells) 20gm Soda (sodium carbonate) 20gm Alum (potassium aluminum sulfate) Soak the dry weld overnight  Heat for 1-2hrs It wasn't turning yellow so I added 1tsp of crushed egg shells (as I couldn't find my chalk and they are both calcium carbonate.) Still couldn't see a difference so I left it overnight again. I did some more research that led me to add 20gm of soda which went yellow instantly, so I probably didn't need to wait overnight. (pH 10) I reheated the weld dye bath then sieved it through cloth. Linen would have been used in medieval times as it was cheaper than cotton . Then I added 20gm Alum dissolved in cup of hot water which frothed nicely (pH 8) I decided on a side experiment: I didnt like that t

              GUM ARABIC HISTORY         By Lady Symonne de la Croix                            26.3.20 Gum arabic, also called acacia gum, is made from the sap of the Acacia senegal tree, or gum acacia. The sap is a cold water soluble polysaccharide. In its gum form, it thins out as temperature rises. During the stone age, it was used as a food and an adhesive. Japanese and Chinese used acacia gum for painting as early 4000 B.C. Other documented usages have shown that in Ancient Egypt (around 2650 B.C) it was used in the preparationof inks, paints and dyes. It was the pigment binder for paints used to make hierglyphs and ancient inscriptions refer to it as "kami". Gum arabic was used in the mummification process to adhere the bandage wrappings. It is known that Cleopatra ordered recipes prepared with acacia gum for her favourite lipstick. Ancient Greek writings (especially in the writings of philosophers Pliny and Theophrastis) mention its use to relieve discom

            COCHINEAL COULOURFAST TEST                        By Lady Symonne de la Croix                                   25.3.20                       I removed the tape from the original Cochineal Lake pigment colourfast test after 1.5mths. (7.2.20 - 23.3.20) {Note: bottom 2 are dragons blood. There mostly appears to be no fading except for the first one. Unless my eyes are playing tricks on me.            Dyeing on Linen As a side experiment I attempted dying to dye some linen strips as a colourfast test. The left side is straight cochineal and the right side is cochineal and alum {before laking). I haven't done any research into dying material so could definitely have done it incorrectly. Mine was more of a dip it in and see what happens kind of thing 😉 I notice that there is no fading in the straight cochineal but definitely fading in the alum one. I thought that would be opposite hmmm. Interesting that there is definate fading in material b

                      Cochineal Pigment                         - the next steps.                By Lady Symonne de la Croix                                24.3 20 Its the next day: I couldn't see any pigment at bottom with clearer fluut top which I was expecting. I filtered one of the jars of dye stuff to see.  Yay some pigment. A very deep colour atm. But not as much pigment as I expect. I will let it dry then mull it before I wash it. This is normally done before it is filtered but as I couldn't see any pigment at bottom so it wasnt an option. I decided to experiment with the left over cochineal by reheating and adding extra alum and soda which I mixed in hot water. Very pleased that I got more fizz.  Interesting that one of the dye baths changed to a more pink colour. Unfortunately I didn't keep records of how much of the alum or soda I used. I decided to filter one lot without letting it settle to see what difference, if any, it would make.

I GOT FIZZ!!  COCHINEAL SUCCESS!! By Lady Symonne de la Croix  23.3.20  I finally got a reaction with my lake experiments. Super happy.  Unfortunately the cochineal went purple instead of red but I can live with that. I am wondering if I used too much alum? Now to wait for the pigment to settle and start the washing process.  I started with 30gm of cochineal bugs Then I  ground the cochineal in a mortar and pestle. Its interesting how the bugs go from a silvery colour to a deep red (bottom right) I added the ground cochineal to 800mls hot water and simmered for an hour Then filter out the bug mush. I have been told this can be reused. Next I mixed 20gm alum with 500ml hot demineralised water. The alum/water mix   was pH1.5 (The water started out at pH7.5) Then I mixed 12.5gm soda with about a cup of hot water. pH 12.5 Add the alum water to the filtered dye bath and stir. Next the fizz: Add the soda/water m

                MADDER LAKE - FAIL 😓            By Lady Symonne de la Croix                            13.3.20 100gms madder root          30gm  Alum (metallic salt)- KAl (SO4)2•12H2O             30gms  Potash( alkali)- KOH medieval lye              Water- distilled preferred  NOTE: I downloaded the Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) for above and took specific note of first-aid information) turkey baster                                   heating appliance ( I used a slow cooker)       pH tester                     Thermometer        Gloves                              Containers                                                                                         Material for straining                                         Coffee filters Funnel Cotton wool The madder root needs to be washed before starting the dye/lake making processes.  Add water. Stir. Allow to soak overnight. Syphon water. Add clean water. Repeat, for as lo

                Second Verdigris Harvest               By Symonne de la Croix                              20.3.20  I got bored with waiting for the madder root and alum to 'cook'. Its taking forever to change to the deep red that it is supposed to. (If I haven't messed it up 😊) So I decided to do a second harvest on my verdigris bath.  I am so messy. This time the copper (reused) has been in the same double strength vinegar for a bit over a month. I believe that their could be a slight colour difference from the first harvest. Lighter slightly. The yield wasnt as much, about half of the first lot, which is interesting. I scraped the verdigris off with a safety razor.  Note: WEAR A MASK AND GLOVES this stuff goes everywhere. You DO NOT want to be breathing it in.  Refer to Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS), specifically the first aid section I mulled it with vinegar this time instead of water. This seemed to dissolve the verdigris better.

         More MADDER LAKE ALCHEMY.             By Lady Symonne de la Croix                               18.3.20 I finished the final rinse after soaking the madder root to get rid of the grunge. I sieved the roots through linen and discarded the fluid. There was a somewhat change to the colour of the water, pinker but a little hard to distinguish.  The next step was to put the wet roots into the double boiler  (I chose to use a slow cooker) and cover with demineralised water. [Would have preferred distilled with pH of 7 but still cant locate any, the demineralised is 6.5pH]. I cooked the roots overnight making sure not to boil, as high heat destroys the alizirin colour that I am trying to achieve. Then I added 30gm alum[KAl(SO4)2•12H2O] dissolved in a little water, to the dye bath which is put back on the heat.  The pH is 1.5 atm. There is a definate colour change. Note: I downloaded the Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) for the materials that I am using and have paid