Gevan’s Ammonia Method
For Developing Lichen Dye from Evernia prunastri
Last updated 16-Feb-2022 Gevan R Marrs Revision 1
Overview
This “recipe” is intended to provide sufficient dye liquid to dye 50g wool to a medium to dark shade (depending on dyeing time and temperature) within a reasonable time (1 to 6 hours) and temperature (130 to 180°F), all within a reasonable dye development time (4-6 weeks). All quantities can be adjusted scale for different amounts of wool, or different starting weights of Evernia prunastri.
Ingredients
· 50 g of dry Evernia prunastri
o If it is fresh (wet) use double the weight.
o Insure it is 90% or more Evernia prunastri and not the “looks-similar Ramalina farinacea
· 500 ml (~2 cups) Household Ammonia solution
o This quantity assumes that your “household ammonia” is typical and somewhere between 2% and 4% ammonia. If you suspect or know it is something different, use the table below to adjust ammonia:water proportion to get correct total dye solution and ammonia %.
o Make sure there is good ammonia content, either by ph paper, ph meter, specific gravity, or…smell test (just be careful about sniffing ammonia vapors).
· 500 ml (~2 cups) ml water
o Tap water probably OK, if in doubt buy distilled water– it’s cheap.
Method
1. Use a glass jar with a snug-fitting lid (think canning jars) with a capacity of 2000 ml (2L) (that is, 2 quart).
2. Place weighed amount of lichen in jar and “smoosh” it down if it is dried to better allow liquid to cover lichen. (I would NOT grind the lichen – it diminishes access to chemicals in the early stages.)
3. Measure out volume of water (first) and pour over lichen.
4. Then measure out ammonia solution. Do this without delay[1], keeping the jug closed as much as possible, and quickly add the ammonia solution to the dye jar. Cover the jar without delay.
5. Shake it well. It is helpful to shake it every couple hours for the first day, and perhaps daily after (but I don’t think that is crucial after a couple days).
6. I would NOT open the jar to give it fresh air. I believe the loss of ammonia is worse that any limited oxygen.
7. Keep the jar in a warm location if feasible – 68-70°F. The trouble of a warm-water bath (say 90°F) is not worth the minor gain in dye development time. Cooler probably slows it, but above 50°F probably still goes OK.
I have no evidence that sunlight is useful or needed. Mine have developed in near darkness and seem just fine. A sunny location may favor warmth as cited in 7 above.
Expectations – is it progressing?
You should see, within hours, the dye development solution turning a rich brown. If it is not, go to troubleshooting. With about 10-15 days you should see considerable reddish-brown developing, progressing to dark purplish (aka “grape juice” stage), and eventually on to almost black-purple so dark you cannot see into the jar.
Scaling the recipe (note these don’t need to be exact, so conversions are rounded)
Weight of wool to dye, grams (WOF 1:1) | Weight of Lichen to use, dry, grams / ounces | Weight of lichen to use if wet, grams / onces | Needed size of jar for dye development | Amount of 2%-4% HH ammonia solution, ml / cups | Amount of water, ml / cups |
50 g / 1.75 oz | 50 g / 1.75 oz | 100 g / 3.5 oz | 2 liter / 2 quart | 500 ml / 2 cups | 500 ml / 2 cups |
If you want to use a smaller jar (1 liter or 1 quart), cut the numbers above in half. If you want a gallon (4 liters) double the values above.
Adjusting the ammonia:water amounts if different ammonia strength
The target is to have 1 to 2% ammonia in the dye development solution. Here are a few amounts of ammonia solution and water to get the target total 1 liter (1 quart) of dye development solution.
Jug ammonia % | 3% (2-4%) | 5% (4-6%) | 10% | 25% (gasp) |
Proportion of water:Ammonia | 1:1 | 7:3 | 8.5:1.5 | 94:6 |
mls water | 500 ml or 2 cups | 700 mls or 3 cups | 850 mls or 3.5 cups | 940 mls or 4 cups |
mls jug ammonia | 500 ml or 2 cups | 300 mls or 1 1/3 cup | 150 ml or 2/3 cup | 60 mls or ¼ cup |
Figure 1. Example of what a 2-quart dye development bath should look like for proportions. This solution is just one hour old. The pH should be above 10.5 or there is likely a problem with ammonia.
The next day the solution should be quite dark brown:
Successful Dye
Reddish tones should start to develop with 7-10 days, turning to grape-juice purplish within 15 to 20 days.. Here’s what my best dye (so far) looked like after 19 days.
Troubleshooting
My dye development solution is not turning brown with the first day or so. What’s wrong?
I would suspect first that maybe it’s not Evernia prunastri, but Ramalina farinacea instead. Study how to distinguish them.
Secondly I would suspect ammonia too low (which will mean pH too low as well). Open the jar and fan air from above the jar to your nose[2]. If you don’t smell ammonia it means you had weak household ammonia, or it was lost somehow. I would do the fan-and-sniff test on jugs of ammonia until you find one that smells strong. Pour off the old dye development solution and re-dose (but only if it hasn’t yet darkened – otherwise you’re pouring off extracted dye precursors.)
My dye development turned brown but is not developing red tones even after a couple weeks. What’s wrong?
I would expect loss of ammonia from too much exposure. If you can check pH, it should still be above 11 or it needs re-dosing with straight ammonia solution. Leave headspace for air, even if you have to up-size to a bigger container. This might salvage a “stuck” development bath.
Glossary
Dye Development – the process by which dye precursors from the lichen are extracted and converted to orcein dyes by soaking in an ammonia solution.
[1] Ammonia gas evaporates “quickly” from open containers – like within an hour at 68°F. So it’s not like seconds, but you should strive to keep that ammonia in the jar.
[2] Caution! Ammonia gas is very soluble in aqueous solutions, like in your eyes and respiratory tract. Never stick your nose right over a container of ammonia solution – always carefully fan air to your nose to minimize exposure.
Gevan's AFM Recipe for Evernia on Google drive (for pdf download).
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