Vat Dye

The art of dyeing fabric has been around for thousands of years, the oldest written record of natural dyes can be traced back to Chinese writings from 2600 BC. In their tombs, the ancient Egyptians left hieroglyphics depicting the extraction and application process of natural dyes. Even before this time people were using pigments derived from natural sources to color their skin, clothing, artifacts, and to create beautiful cave paintings, some of which date past 17,000 BC.

Ochre is mined from the earth, then ground down and mixed with a vehicle (such as oil) for use in application.

The earliest forms of pigment were derived from earth substrate, such as ochres; additionally, charcoal and ash from burnt sticks or fires were used to draw upon cave walls by ancient man. Ochre can come in a variety of earthen colors, such as yellows, reds, oranges, purples and browns, which can be combined and altered by heating to create additional colors for use. As culture evolved and humans expanded their knowledge about the natural world, additional techniques were developed to create pigments.

Ancient Egyptian clothing.

Ochre ground down and applied in various forms.

Up until the 19th century textile dyes were derived from a variety of sources: insects, plants, roots, shells and other substances were used in some fashion to create a variety of colors. Long before the advent of modern tie dye, a common method for adhering pigment to fiber was through the use of vat, or tub dyeing. This method typically involves making up vats of color from natural sources, such as indigo from woad plants, which are then made soluble through the addition of reducing agents. Once the solution is soluble, cloth is dipped repeatedly into the vat and then exposed to oxygen, wherein it undergoes oxidation, changing colors and converting the dye back into its water-insoluble state.

The process of traditional vat dying is not well suited for home use due to preparation of the materials and the larger space needed to work. Luckily for us, modern dyes are much easier to use at home, require less prep work than traditional vat dyes and produce more vibrant colors than natural dye. We’ve been interested in attempting a home cooked version of vat dying for some time and are now ready to give it a go.

Traditional vat dyeing.

While there are many recipes for vat dyeing (also know as tub, bucket or dip dyeing), we decided to do things slightly different. Instead of mixing up a large batch of dye with the necessary chemicals in a 5 gallon bucket or tub, we took our pre-mixed liquid dyes and transfer them into bowls large enough to dye one adult and one child’s shirt. They were soaked in soda ash and rung out before folding. Although most dyers prefer to use vats for dyeing whole garments one color (such as with indigo), many tie or fold before taking the plunge. Traditional techniques such as Shibori are a perfect example of how material is bound, gathered, tied and folded before being dyed.

If you choose to fold or tie your garment, it is important to decide on a design in which there are no interior folds. For example, the pattern we chose for the adult shirt was folded in such a way that it was not turned in on itself but rather folded back and forth to expose as much material as possible. For the child’s shirt, we chose an off center spiral.

Check out the photo tutorial below for more detailed information:

First I prepared some corning ware dishes by covering with plastic wrap. You do not have to do this step if you are using containers appropriate for dye.

Gathered materials and possible dyes.

Instead of mixing up a huge vat of dye for two shirts, I simply mixed up liquid dyes using urea to transfer to the bowls when ready.

Child’s shirt, off center spiral.

Bound and ready for dye.

Adult shirt, spread out over a table. Try to remove as many wrinkles as possible. The more crisp the edges, the better the outcome.

Fold in half, lengthwise.

Fold the top half back over, passing the middle line and leaving enough material to fold over one more time.

Now the first half of the shirt is folded, time to flip.

Repeat the same steps on the second half of the shirt, smooth out any wrinkles.

Your shirt should look like this.

Starting at the bottom of the shirt, fold at angle to one side.

Continue folding back and forth (similar to folding a paper football).

The shirt should be one big stacked triangle.

Banded and ready for dye.

Since I had my little helper with me, we moved our dyeing materials outside.

I prepare the work surface with a plastic drop cloth. Don’t forget your gloves!

Transferring liquid dyes to bowls.

My helper wanted to make the rainbow so we used the three primary’s in tie dye (Lemon Yellow, Turquoise and Fuchsia).

Dipping the spiral into fuchsia first…

Turquoise next..

And lastly yellow. I would suggest starting with yellow so as not to contaminate the lighter of the three colors ( but someone was anxious to get dyeing)!

Adult shirt, starting with yellow..

and finishing with fuchsia. Notice there are blank spots on this shirt. Had we used larger bowls this wouldn’t be a problem. I compensated by quickly going over the areas using direct application (bottles).

Wrapped and ready to batch.

Finished Child’s shirt!

Finished Adult shirt!

Thank you for stopping by today. We hope this brief history and alternative to vat dyeing has inspired you to give it a try yourself!  Please feel free to ask any questions you have in the comments section. As always, sources for the history are listed below; check them out if you are curious to learn more about vat dyeing and natural pigments!

Stay Groovy,
-Brent, Gina and Nia

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Sources:

http://www.straw.com/sig/dyehist.html

http://www.quilthistory.com/dye.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ochre

http://www.chemistry2011.org/news/OrganicChemistry/SyntheticChemistry/NewCluesInTheSearchToRediscoverTheMysteriousMayaBlueFormula

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vat_dye

http://www.pburch.net/dyeing/dipdyeing.shtml

http://www.dharmatrading.com/techniques/tubdye/the-tub-washing-machine-vat-bucket-dye-method.html