Weld produces a wide range of brilliant lemon yellows and can be over-dyed with woad to produce Lincoln Green.
You’ll need the following items before you start:
– 50g fibres mordanted with alum
– 25g – 50g dried weld
– 2 to 4 grams of chalk (calcium carbonate)
– 5 litres water
Soak the weld in water overnight.
Simmer for about an hour but do not allow the weld to boil. Let the dye bath cool, strain, then add fibres which should be left overnight to soak.
You can then add more water to the strained weld to try for paler colours.
To get the best results:
Some people get a brilliant lemon yellow with weld with no trouble at all, whilst others only manage to get dull yellows. This may depend on the water that you are using (either hard or soft), the soil where the weld has been grown, and how long the Weld has been soaked and heated.
You can try the following tips to help improve the end result with your Weld dye project:
a) Add chalk: dissolve 2 to 4 grams of chalk (calcium carbonate) with a small amount of boiling water in a container and add to the pot with the weld, the simmer for at least one hour. This can make an noticable difference to the colour. Try simmering the Weld with the chalk in the vat instead of just adding it at the end.
b) This may produce a rather pungent smell, however letting the weld ferment in water for a couple of days, either before or after simmering it can help to improve the color result.
c) Longer simmering times may help to improve the end color result.