Natural Dye Interest Group

 In February the Natural Dye group will be exploring cochineal. Cochineal are small parasitic insects that live on the prickly pear cactus that grow in the Southwest of the US and Central and South America. The pigment, carmine  is used widely in the food and cosmetic industry industry . Cochineal yields a lovely red color that can be modified to orange or purple with a change of pH. We will dye our fiber then do a post dye modification with an acid and alkaline bath.

What to Bring: 

small samples of mordanted fiber: aluminum acetate for cellulose fibers and alum for protein fibers. As usual bring a project to work on and any show and tell you'd like to share.

Hosted by Joyce Tromba