> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://minormakerslab.gitbook.io/students-1920/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://minormakerslab.gitbook.io/students-1920/andrei/summer/7-or-transforming-molding-and-casting-with-bioplastics/creating-natural-dyes.md). # Creating natural dyes **Modern designers are spoiled. The digital software we use have every color that a human eye can see available for infinite use. With synthetic ink we can create most of these colors on paper. We often forget where these colors come from. I will try to extract natural dyes to use in bioplastics, so final products will be all natural.** {% embed url="" %} Using the dyes in bioplastics. It looks like I'm about to make drugs. Summer 2020 {% endembed %} ![All the extracted dyes together. Summer 2020](/files/-M51u5O_Aywd-TdSa0wz) All the products I used to extract these dyes were found in my home. My plan was to extract all the colors by cooking the materials I found. To test the dye I briefly put in a cotton pad while the dye was boiling. I don't think this was a very good way to test the dyes, but it's supposed to give some indication as to how the color will turn out. ## 🟩 Tulips I received a beautiful bouquet of purple tulips and I'm in love with the color. After seeing classmates use hibiscus tea to extract a purple dye I wanted to try it with different flowers. After finding a mention in an article of using tulip pigments specifically to color bioplastics, I figured I'd give it a try. {% embed url="" %} The article doesn't show how they extract the color. They did state they used dried tulips. I didn't have time to dry them so I just used the boiling method. ![Tulips I used for the dye. Summer 2020](/files/-M51uP7yE_D555oYNNTD) I had 50 tulips, so I could afford to lose a few. I used the petals of 5 flowers. It hurt my patriotic heart a bit to destroy our national symbol of pride. ![The destroyed flowers and the amount of petals I used for the dye. Summer 2020](/files/-M51uVNlUpQM7KFJLEz4) Shortly after boiling the petals lost their purple color. I expected the water to become brown, but after cooking it through for about 10 minutes this lovely bright green color appeared. ![Before cooking the petals. Summer 2020](/files/-M51uoL4hk3ztgjOuPFH) ![During cooking. What is happening? Summer 2020](/files/-M51urX-7eqOnJQB7nRN) ![A totally unexpected outcome of the tulip dye. Summer 2020](/files/-M51uw49K8tY7-6VZMLF) They look nothing like the original product, which is a bit of a disappointment but a beautiful green color nevertheless. ![The final result of the tulip dye. Summer 2020](/files/-M51w-4zj2kBoOQvnFm_) ## 🟩 Basil I still insisted on making a purple dye and after a quick search I found this article. They claimed that: *"The same basil, Ocimum basilicum, that flavors your salads can also produce a nice purplish-grey dye bath. Different types of basil can produce different shades. Gather the leaves and stems and boil with water to extract the color."* I was limited to the products I had in my house, so if "purplish-grey" all I can get I will have to work with it. {% embed url="" %} I'm quite skeptical, since no other articles I read mentioned using basil, and there is no picture of the end result. We will find out as soon ![The (dying) plant I used for the basil dye. Summer 2020](/files/-M51wZHrxJhd_bDLg5JV) My basil plant apparently didn't like direct sunlight, so it was nearing its end anyway. I cut of a**ll the stems and leaves** and threw them in a pot. After **boiling for half an hour and straining** the basil out, I was left with a brown/grey dye. ![The final result of the basil dye. Summer 2020](/files/-M51wf-4zpG2NzTH3bi-) I still felt a bit disappointed. Betrayed even. Although it's a beautiful color, it's still nowhere near purple. I think my trust in vague internet articles is damaged. ## 🟨 Massala A dye with a bit of a backup story. After the two muted colors I made, I was ready for something bright and happy. Loes said that basically anything that will leave stains on a shirt, can create a good dye. I immediately thought one ingredient my mother always told me to never spill, the king of all stains: massala. As a person from a Surinamese and Indonesian family, I'm quite familiar with this ingredient. This yellow spice leaves stains that are almost impossible to remove if you don't treat them immediately. Recently I did have a little accident, when an egg from my roti rolled of my plate onto my white cotton shirt. ![An unusual massala stain. Summer 2020](/files/-M51wsqrDF9kSGk1a3vc) I ran to the sink and used a stain removal wipe I had lying around. The color shifted almost instantly to a bright red red, which I had never seen before. I looked through the ingredients of the stain removal wipe to see if there was any substance that triggered this change in color, but i didn't know any of the ingredients. Eventually I successfully removed both the yellow and red stains with bleach. Now that I know that under certain (unknown) circumstances, the otherwise yellow massala can show up bright red. I thought it would be interesting to make a dye out of it, which may have an unexpected outcome. ![Massala, the spice I used to make the dye. Summer 2020](/files/-M51xFrxiHGqqnjEnl2q) I cooked **two teaspoons of massala** in **half a liter of water** for **10 minutes.** Then I strained through a sift and a coffee filter. It took quite a while to strain the massala powder out the mixture. I As expected the dye stained the white cotton, as this happened to my cotton shirt as well. I was secretly hoping for the red shade to suddenly show up, but I knew this was very unlikely. ![The final result of the massala dye. Summer 2020](/files/-M51xOkN8xeSIOo6YWnw) I'm very happy with how saturated the color is. I wish I knew which ingredients turned the yellow to red, but I'm satisfied with the final result. ## 🟫 Coffee grounds My coffee machine discards coffee grounds in nice round pills. We usually save them for gardening, so I had a lot to play with. I chose to go for the used coffee grounds instead of just coffee because I like the idea of using waste-products. ![Coffee grounds. Summer 2020](/files/-M51xjlxt0Zypf6sWhRY) Since it took some time to separate the powder from the dye the previous time, I thought I could try containing the grounds in a filter. This however kept all the grounds tightly pressed together in the filter, and didn't give them the room to float around and released color. ![Attempt to boil coffee grounds in a filter. Summer 2020](/files/-M51xrVjAck2iA_Lwv1T) I threw the **grounds of 3 cups of coffee** in a **liter of water** and **boiled for half** an hour. Then **strained through a coffee filter.** ![The final result of a coffee dye. Summer 2020.](/files/-M51xxtKU8GXNPiT1UkP) I didn't expect for the already used coffee to release this much color. I like the smell, and i wonder if different types of coffee will give different colors. --- # Agent Instructions This documentation is published with GitBook. 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