Naj sonce barva mojo volno - Let the sun dye my wool

Letos sem barvanje in vse ostalo delo v zvezi z volno in svilo postavila v drugi plan. Zdaj, ko takoj čez cesto na zapuščeni zemlji bujno cveti lučnik, na vrtu pa se košatijo lepi grmi šentjanževke, mi žilica ni dala miru. Če svoj čas namenjam drugim stvarem in ga zmanjka za dolgotrajne priprave in izvedbo klasičnega barvanja v loncu na štedilniku, je tu še sonce, ki lahko opravi večino dela zame.
Tako sem predvčerajšnjim zjutraj skočila z vrečko in škarjami čez cesto, nabrala lučnikovo cvetje s stebli vred in stehtala - 400 g. Tole s tehtanjem je izredno, bi rada enkrat vedela, koliko materiala uporabim. Ponavadi kar nabašem v kozarec in tehtam samo volno in galun.

This year, natural dyeing and other wool- and silk-related work is placed in second plan. But now that I can see mullein in abundant blossom, right across the road, and that rich bushes of St. John's wort  catch my eye in the garden, I could no longer put it off. If I dedicate my time to other things and have no spare time for the time-consuming preparations necessary for standard dyeing in a hot bath on the cooker, and for its performance, I said to myself: "Let the Sun do the job for me."
So the morning before yesterday, with a bag and scissors  in my hands I leapt across the road to collect mullein flowers on stalks. I weighed the material - it weighed 400 gram. This weighing is an exception to my routine dyeing. I just wanted to know how much material I use. Otherwise I usually just stuff the plant material in a jug and only weigh alum and wool.

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Na to sem v mrežasti vrečki položila 50 gramov bele česane volne jezersko-solčavske ovce, ki sem jo namakala čez noč in nato oprala. Sicer bi bilo bolje, če bi v mrežico dala lučnik, ampak pri roki nisem imela nič uporabnega. Na vrh sem počez zatlačila lučnikova stebla, da bi držala volno pod gladino.

On top of this I placed, wrapped in a netted bag, 50 gram of carded white wool of the jezersko-solčavska ovca sheep breed. It were better if I put the plant material in the bag, but there was none at hand. On top of wool I stuffed some stems of mullein to keep the wool under surface of the dyebath.

 

Na to sem nalila bakrov acetat. Sliši se učeno, a je to samo živo modra tekočina, ki jo dobimo, če kos bakra dovolj dolgo namakamo v kisu.

 

Then I poured in copper acetate. It may sound a bit scientific but it is only the vivid blue liquid you obtain if you let a piece of copper sheet or wire (or coin for that matter) in vinegar for a sufficient period of time.

 

 

V vroči vodi sem raztopila 5 gramov galuna (to je 10% na teži suhe volne), razredčila s hladno vodo in vlila v kozarec.

Počasi se zelenomodra tekočina dviga po omočeni volni.

 

I dissolved 5 gram of alum in hot water _(this is 10% of the weight of dry wool), diluted with cool water and poured into the jar.

Slowly, the greenish-blue liquid rises uop the wetted wool.

 

 

 

Na soncu se vsebina kozarca lahko zelo segreje in celo kipi čez rob. Počasi lučnik oddaja svojo barvo, ki skupaj z modro bakrovo vodo volno obarva svetlejše zeleno.

Ves napor pri tem barvanju je potrpežljivost, ker moram počakati vsaj dva tedna, lahko pa tudi cel mesec.

Sredi julija pa vidimo, kaj bo nastalo :-) 

The sun can heat the liquid very much, even to make it spill over tge brim of tha glass jar. Sloswly, mullein gives off yellow colour that, together with the blue copper water imparts a light green colour to the wool.
The only hard work in this method of dyeing is patience: I have to wait two weeks at least, and sometimes even an entire month.
By mid-July we'll see what will have been produced :-)