Dye batch #2

[ckmason]

So, red cabbage (which is supposed to give dark blue purple in base and pink in acid) is giving me a whole heck of a lot of khaki-green. (Image, left to right, base increased, acid increased, tap water no additives). This is you know, weird?

Best guess, there's a metal basket that came with my giant enameled pot for lifting mason jars in and out, and I was using it to pull fiber in and out of the dyepot too, without thinking about the fact that metals will have mordanting and frequently hue-changing effects, and you don't have to use the metal salts powders, you can make your own by putting a metal object in water and usually a bit of vinegar, but I'm guessing that the acidity of the alum bath I was mordanting with had a similar effect in leeching material out of the metal basket. possibly also heat related? the bottom of the basket had some black marks where it would have been in direct contact with the pot on the burner.

There was enough random bits of cabbage left on my equipment that my wash water turned dark blue when I cleaned up today; when I poured it into the big pot that the metal basket fits in, it seemed to turn greener. I am taking this as further evidence it's the metal basket. And wondering how to wash the big pot well enough to keep residue from affecting future dye batches.

I want to try again but I also want to get something besides khaki already so I don't want to do cabbage again next. I'm thinking blackberries. They're supposed to give a purple. Maybe I could do a small batch and use the small pot exclusively to avoid the metal basket residue.

I want to play with using pomegranate skins for tannin, I know tannin mordanting always adds a brown/grey cast to the yarn but I'm wondering if it might be less pronounced with something other than chestnut tannin, which is what I'm currently using. Also I'm considering getting a dwarf pomegranate tree to grow on the balcony and be a source of mordant (and also fruit?) if I like the results I get from pomegranate mordanting with ones I get from the store. I should probably do a comparison test--one lot mordanted with the chestnut, one lot mordanted with pomegranate. I should reread my dye books on how much organic material you need to get a sufficient amount of tannin out of.