Horse Hair

Horse hair can be woven with out being spun first, the fibers are very long and strong and, and can stand the pulling and tugging of the loom with out breakage. This is because of its high protein make up. The hair does not absorb water very well, however it can be felted with a lot of work and hot soap water. 

Horse hair has many different uses like being make into rope, fishing line, milk sieves, horse reins, horse rugs, bushes, and jewelry. 

All horse colors begin with a genetic base of red or black with the addition of allies for variation  in color tone spotting, stripping, deletion of color, or other affects of aging.

 

Coat color alleles affect melanin, the pigment or coloring of the coat. There are two different distinct types of melanin: phaeomelanin, which is seen as red to yellow color, and eumelanin, is seen as brown to black. All coloration genes in mammals affect either the production or distribution of these two chemicals phaeomelanin and eumelanin . Allele affecting pigment cells do not change the pigment chemicals themselves but rather by acting on the placement of pigment cells produce distinct patterns of unpigmented pink skin and with the reaction of white hair.

Genes appear in groups of two, with each single gene "option" being called an allele. The terms Alleles and Modifiers are used to describe the same concept. An allele identified with a capital letter is a dominant gene, one identified with a lower-case letter is a recessive gene. Because sex cells (sperm and ova) contain only half the usual number of chromosomes, each parent sends one allele in each gene combination to the ensuing offspring. When an individuals gene set contains identical copies of the same allele, it is named homozygous for that gene. When it has two opposite (different) alleles, it is heterozygous. For arecessive gene to be shown, it must be homozygous, but a dominant gene will be shown whether it is heterozygous or homozygous. A horse homozygous for a certain allele will always give it to its offspring, while a horse that is heterozygous holds two different alleles and can give either one.

For my tea dye I decided to try passion tea, which is a pick herbal tea. I soaked my pre mordant fabric in a bath of hot water and 5 tea bags  for 24 hours. 

I still was searching for an Orange so i decide to try tiger lilies. I pored boiling water over the flower petals and let my pre mordant fabric soak over night. I came out green I was very surprised!

I still was tyring to get an orange tone so i decide to mix a red (beets) and a yellow (onion skins). I also wanted to see what the beets would do so i dived my beet bath as well. I blended the beets with hot water, and then poured boiling water over the paste. I poured boiling water over the onion skins as well. Then I let my pre mordant swatches sit over night in each bath. I got very close to an orange that time.

I was having trouble getting the color orange from natural items, so my teacher suggested I try Annatto. It is a spice that is grown in very warm regions. I found it being sold at Mexican grocery store. The package was 15 oz., so for ever ounce i added a cup of water. Then I divided the bath up into 6 equal parts, adding a different mordant to each. Like the black pepper, annatto was not going to respond to Aluminum and Iron mordants but I still tried them. But it was great to see the rejection of the mordant in the bath, the copper was sitting on top of the bath, it is green. The 6 baths included Aluminum, Copper, Iron, Vinegar, Salt, and Annatto solo. I left them to sit over night. All 6 samples turned out a yellow color, and i was not able to get orange at this time. 

I wanted to make a something for my friend Sarah who recently got married out of the bouquet that we he bridesmaids held during the ceremony. She choose a purple calalilly. So cut the stems from the flowers and created two dye bathes by pouring boiling water over both the steams and the flowers. I didn't get as strong of a color as i would have hoped but it is still a very nice color. I let my pre mordant fabric stand in the dye for 24 hours. 

I saw some whole black pepper at the store when i was at the store so i thought I would try it out. After looking at the molecular structure of black pepper i knew that an Aluminum or iron mordant would not work, but i still tried it, and i decide to try salt and vinegar bath as well. Still the beautiful brown tones of the dye bath really never cam through... oh well. 

I created the red onion skin dye bath by pouring boiling water over the onion skins and letting it steep. 3 pre mordant swatches were soaked in cold water for 15 min before being placed in the dye bath. This helps the dye disperse on the swatch more evenly. Without being soaked the fabric can have a blotchy and uneven appearance. I took out my three swatches, and put in three more and pre mordant swatches (Aluminum, Copper, Iron) and left them in the bath for 72 hours.