6 Recipes For Dyeing With Lichens
For dyeing with Lichens you can use 6 recipes below :
1. To dye Brown with Crotal.
For 6-1/4 lbs. (100 ozs.) of wool. Dye baths may be used of varying strengths of from 10 to 50 ozs. of Crotal. Raise the bath to the boil, and boil for an hour.
A light tan shade is got by first dipping the wool in a strong solution of Crotal, a darker shade by boiling for half-an-hour, and a dark brown by boiling for two hours or so.
It is better, however, to get the shade by altering the quantity of Crotal used. The addition of sufficient oil of vitriol or acetic acid to make the bath slightly acid will be an improvement (a very small quantity should be used).
2. To dye red with Crotal.
Gather the lichen off the rocks—it is best in winter. Put layers of lichen and wool alternately in a pot, fill up with water and boil until you get the desired tint.
Too much crotal will make the wool a dark red brown, but a very pretty terra cotta red can be got. No mordant is required.
3. To dye Pink from a bright yellow Lichen (Parmelia parietina).
Mordant the wool with 3% of Bichromate of Potash, then boil with the lichen for 1 hour or more.[Pg 20]
4. To dye Brown from Crotal.
Boil the wool with an equal quantity of lichen for 1 or 1-1/2 hours. No mordant is required.
5. To dye red purple from Cudbear and Logwood.
Dye with equal quantities of Cudbear and Logwood, the wool having been mordanted with chrome. A lighter colour is got by dyeing with 8 lbs. cudbear, 1/2 lb. logwood (for 30 lbs. wool).
6. To dye Yellow on Linen with the Lichen Peltigera canina (a large flat lichen growing on rocks in woods).
Mordant with alum (1/4 lb. to a lb. of linen) boil for 2 hours.
Then boil up with sufficient quantity of the lichen till the desired colour is got.
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