rummaging for spare samples that could be used for mending my increasingly threadbare clothing i found that one of the cats had "forgotten itself" and anointed this one with a particularly pungent and unpleasant emission.
i could have hurled it onto the compost but it seemed a good opportunity to do a wash-fastness test
so
i put the sample into a jar with very hot water and a bit of "Sard wonder soaker" just to see what would happen
forgot it overnight
rinsed this morning
and discovered that
rather than the colour being removed
it actually seemed to have been enhanced
[the brown of the onion having deepened with added reddish tones]
was it the cat pee [ a known mordant] or
the Wonder Soaker
or
a combination of the two
usually i would simply have used eucalyptus oil in water
but younger generations have stocked the laundry with the soaking goo
to get their shearing dungas clean
so i helped myself to a little...all in the interests of research.
oh that's so gross LOL but looks oh so amazing!
ReplyDeleteWhen life offers you a mordant, you may as well run with it (a natural dyer's take on "When life gives you lemons make lemonade"). In the last few weeks I've been buying young thai coconuts. I put a dish cloth over the coconut and then whack it open with a hammer, so that I don't get splashed. I've discovered that the coconut water or shell stains the cloth. Not great for my dish towels, but a great opportunity to test a new dye. =)
ReplyDeletelove it
ReplyDeleteYou are amazing.
ReplyDeleteWell I suppose it's not that different from using urine as a mordant in medieval times, fabulous colour.
ReplyDeletei second judy! cat piss, oh my.
ReplyDeleteThis is great...my cat loves to pee on textiles. Next time i tell her which piece is in need!
ReplyDeleteLovely brown but I ain't chasing cats for their pee!
ReplyDelete