Sally Pointer

Herefordshire, england

Stockholm 126:  Another (Recipe)

Red ochre dissolved in vinegar provides purple.

introduction:

In theory, vinegar could dissolve out iron compounds from ochre so I was hopeful that we would see at least something. Three samples were set up, using a commercially obtained red ochre/red iron oxide and three different vinegars. Malt, red wine and distilled vinegar were all tried, with the malt and wine vinegars being the closest to types available in antiquity. In all three cases, 10g ochre was covered in 200ml vinegar in a sealed glass jar and left on a sunny windowsill for four months before using. When it came time for dying, the malt vinegar jar was selected as looking most representative, although no visible change was really apparent in any of the samples. Scoured wool cloth and yarn samples were boiled in the vinegar/ochre mix, with additional water to create a suitable volume for dyeing, for half an hour. Once cool, the samples were washed in water.  Both unmordanted and alum mordanted 

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