Natural dying wool using waste coffee grounds

Properties & Qualities

Application

Sample Making Other

Colour

Brown

Sample Information

Date of creation

June 2023

Dimensions

4 Yards with 168 Ends

Weight

116g

Culture & Context

I have been working as a part time barista for the past 18 months while also pursuing my textiles career. In this time, I have fallen in love with the process of making coffee however there is a huge amount of waste that comes with it. Through this project I wanted to see how many ways I could utilise waste from the coffee industry and turn it into a new/ experimental material or process. I collected waste coffee from the local coffee shop I work in and used it as a natural dye material. So many of my clothes have been stained/ marked from working with coffee, so I thought why not try dye yarns with it. I have explored natural dyes before so I tried it again using coffee this time.

Process & Production

The process of this material was firstly preparing all the ingredients and equipment needed. Used ground coffee were collected and dried out. The warp (4yards,168ends) was made from 1ply Irish wool and chained to prepare for dying. The waste coffee grounds were let brew in boiling water while the rest was prepared. The wool warp was then soaked and washed gently in lukewarm water and a small amount of detergent. Then the wool was mordanted using Alum and lukewarm water for 1 hour. The wool was removed from the water and alum and then washed gently. The brewed coffee grounds were strained using a sieve and muslin cloth and put to the side. The dye bath was prepared by adding the coffee dyed water to the pot of water and alum. The wool was then added back to the dye bath of coffee, water and alum. It was let simmer for an hour (Ensure the water temperature does not go above 30oc to make
sure the wool doesn’t felt) and then the heat was turned off and left to soak over night. The following morning the wool was removed from the dye bath and rinsed until the water ran clear. It was then left to dry.

Recipe Details

Ingredients :
50g Alum.
100g Used Coffee grounds.
1ltr water
Detergent.
Wool Warp.
Method :
Score wool warp by soaking it in warm water (no more than 30oc) and a small bit of
detergent.
Rinse wool gently after an hour.
Prepare coffee by soaking in boiling water why the wool warp is prepared and scored.
Prepare big pot with warm water and Alum. Add wool and leave to soak for an hour to
ensure the wool have been mordanted.
Remove wool from pot and strain the coffee grounds using a sieve and muslin cloth.
Add coffee liquid to dye bath of water and alum and mix.
Add wool back to the dye bath and stir to ensure an even dye. Bring the dye bath to
simmer (again no more than 30oc to avoid felting the wool).
Leave simmer for an hour checking temperature throughout. When it has simmered
for an hour turn off heat and leave to soak over night.
The following morning remove the dyed wool and rinse until water runs clear.
Leave to dry for a couple of days.