Dyeing Textiles with Cochineal

Lab Guide for Students

Reece Brown
Spring 2023
HIST GU4962: Making and Knowing in Early Modern Europe: Hands-On History

Adapted from chapter 5, “Recipes,” of Jo Kirby et al, Natural Colorants for Dyeing and Lake Pigments: Practical Recipes and their Historical Sources (Archetype, London, 2014).

MATERIALS

  • Dyestuff (cochineal)

  • mordant (alum)

  • Mortar and pestle

  • Coffee filter

  • Water

  • Textile - 25 g cotton bandana

  • Thermometer

  • Stirring stick

  • Plate

Ratios of Materials

Textile (weight of fiber - WOF) : mordant (alum) : water

1g : 0.2g : 50g

Textile : cochineal : water

1 : 1.25g : 62.5g

PROCEDURE

Mordant bath

  • Measure out water into pot

  • Add alum and stir

  • Place beaker onto hot plate and turn on to medium-low

  • Stir to dissolve alum in the water

  • Pre-wet textiles with water and wring them out to remove water

  • Add textiles when alum solution reaches 70º C

  • Heat the textiles for 20 minutes at 80-90º C, stirring occasionally to ensure homogenous absorption

  • Remove textiles, then rinse them thoroughly in cold water

Extract Dye From Cochineal

  • Using mortar and pestle, crush dyestuffs to a fine powder or into small pieces

  • Measure out water and pour into pot

  • Add dyestuffs to drawstring bag, close tightly, add bag to water

  • Place pot on stove, at medium-low

  • Heat the bath (without the textiles) at 80-90 °C for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally

  • After 30 minutes, remove dyestuffs in drawstring bag

Dye Textiles

  • Add textiles to the dye bath (it is usually best to pre-wet textiles with water before adding)

  • Heat textiles at 80-90 °C for 20 min, stirring occasionally to ensure homogeneous dyeing

  • After 20 minutes, remove the textiles from the bath

  • Being careful not to damage (or, if using wool, to felt the textile), wash textiles with clean water to remove any dye that has not bound to them

  • When the water runs clear over the textiles and no color comes off the textiles, wring out excess water

  • Lay out the textiles to dry

Reflection

On a separate piece of paper, write a paragraph about the experience using one of the guiding questions below:

  • How can we connect art, science, and nature through sustainable practices?

  • What is the value in reconstructing historical procedures?

  • What is the importance of understanding where materials come from?

  • What went differently than expected? How did you react to these situations?