Tie dyeing is an interesting activity, which can add color to clothes such as T-shirts with colorful patterns. Although tie dyeing tools can be bought in stores, people can actually extract dyes provided by nature from items in the backyard, such as acorns and rust.
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In the Journal of Chemical Education of the American Chemical Society, researchers introduced a "green" process for tying and dyeing cotton with renewable resources and waste. This event links science, art and sustainability.
For thousands of years, natural materials have been used as dyes and mordants to help attach compounds to fibers. Brown tannic acid from oak fruit can be combined with orange iron medium to produce dark blue or almost black on the fabric.
To this end, Julian Silverman and his colleagues want to show how these natural dyes can be used in tie dyeing to produce unique designs of white, brown, orange and blue black on cotton napkins. The resulting pattern depends on the way the napkins are wrapped with rubber bands and the order in which they are immersed in the oak fruit stain and in rust and vinegar.
Although all dye solutions can be safely poured into sewers, researchers say gloves, white coats and goggles can help prevent dye from contaminating skin or other clothing.