Answer

Dye a piece of fabric using natural or store-bought dyes and write up your process using a scientific method.

The experiment was meant to satisfy given objectives, these include;

1. To successfully dye a fabric using a natural or store bought dyes.
2. To explore how the use of mordant affects the dyeing process.
3. To explore varying the acidity of the dye bath affects the dyeing process.

A natural dye simply refers to the colorants and dyes that are obtained from plants’ parts, minerals or even invertebrates. The most common source is from vegetables. This could be from leaves, bark, wood, roots and even berries. Store bought dye is a dye or a colorant that have been synthetically made in the in the industries. They mainly compose of a mixture of chemicals that react to give desired colors.

The materials that were provided during the experiment included;

• Some fabric (old pillow case).
• Dye (onion skin)
• Mordant (alum)
• Salt
• Acidity (vinegar)

The recommended procedure was;

            Before the process was carried out, the fabric was then made ready. It was washed and care taken not to dry it since was required wet. Then a mordant which is also known as a fixative was prepared, the fabric then placed in fixative solution for about one hour, removed then rinsed with cold water.

1. The plant material was placed on a spacious non-reactive pot such a glass or stainless steel
2. The pot was then filled with water which was as much as the plant material

• The contain then simmered for about hour until a nice dark color was obtained

1. The plant material then strained and the liquid then returned to the pot
2. The fabric then finally placed in the dye bath and brought to slow boil, simmering done for one hour while stirring once  in awhile
3. The fabric then checked, the color desired having been obtained. The fabric then removed and washed with cold water. Excess dye squeezed

• Drying is then done where sun drying most preferred.

The following results and observations were obtained.

 Discussion and conclusion

During dyeing process, it could be noted the desired color is achieved faster in hot water as compared to using cold water. This is because molecules move faster at elevated temperatures hence speed at the dye molecules enter the fabric is very fast at the time. However incase of the experiment one and two, the color observed is seemed to be dull simply because no mordant or salt was used in either case.

When dyeing without a mordant the color is always dull. This is because most fabrics have poor contact with most dyes therefore the dye doesn’t stick long enough before it’s washed out. A mordant therefore acts like a binder that holds both the dye and fabric which makes the desired color to be reached and maintain at much longer time making the color in this case to be dark brown.

Dyeing without salt will also result in a dull color. This is because salt help improve the dyestuff affinity and acceleration of the dyestuff’s association and lowering its solubility. The net effect makes dye to stick well to the fabric (Willii, 2010).

During dyeing process, it’s important to note that dyes normally react like pH indicator. The pH at which the color change is a characteristic of given dye type. The reason could be low pH will make proton from water to move to the dye’s chemical structure. When the pH is increased to a given point which is specific to a given a dye, the solution contain less amount of proton. The excess proton will therefore leave the dye molecule. The molecule’s color is directly proportional to the light wavelength it reflects. Therefore any changes in the molecules structure will interfere will its absorbed light energy hence the color the molecule reflects. Therefore the losing or gaining of an extra proton is capable of resulting in huge changes in the light energy that can be absorbed by the molecule’s electron bond hence resulting in the dye’s color (Hunger, 2004).