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##MAKE PH 2, 5, 9 and 13
##FINAL PICS
##EXACT MEASUREMENTS
##PRICE
Recipe for an alkaline (PH13) and an acidic (PH2) PH modifier to be used with natural dyes and inks (water and alcohol-based). These can change the original color to become brighter, duller, or even go all the way from purples to greens and blues. Alkaline tends to make colors "colder", while acidic dyes create warmer shades. Acidic and alkaline modifiers have an especially strong effect on dyes made of vegetables that contain anthocyanin such as red cabbage dye, hibiscus, blueberry.
Color without additives: Transparent colorless. Can take on some pigments if dyed textile is dipped in.
* **Water - 800 ml**, the solvent, ideally has a PH of 7.
* **Soda ash - up to 50 g**, to make an alkaline solution (PH 8-PH 13)
* **Citric acid - up to 50g** OR: 150 ml of vinegar or lemon juice, to make an acidic solution (PH 1 -PH 6). Citric acid is sold in asian supermarket and has very high acidity (more than vinegar and lemon juice)
* **Red cabage dye - 50 ml** see [this recipe](https://class.textile-academy.org/2020/loes.bogers/files/recipes/cabbagedye/). Alcohol-based cabage ink is also fine.
* **A large round coffee filter**, ideally white ones. To make PH strips. If you can't find these, get 4 smaller filters and cut them open so you have only one layer.
1. **Four glass jars** size depending on how much PH modifying solution you wish to prepare, 200 ml and up is convenient for dipping dyed textile swatches.
1. **A spray bottle - approx 100 ml**
1. **A small funnel** that fits the spray bottles
1. **A baking tray or acrylic sheet** to dry the PH paper
1. **Commercial PH measuring strips** or a PH measuring device
1. **A stapler, or some paperclips, or sticky tape**
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1. **Preparing the PH paper**
- Put the cabbage dye in one of the spray bottles
- Clean and thoroughly dry the drying surface (e.g. baking tray) to prevent staining.
- Put the coffee filter on the baking tray/sheet
- Spray the coffee filter with the cabbage dye until it is totally covered (one side only).
- Lay it flat and let it dry completely
- Empty and wash the spray bottle.
1. **Making the alkaline PH modifiers**
- Boil the water and divide it over two glass jars
- Add half a teaspoon of soda ash to one, and stir to dissolve.
- Dip a piece of PH paper in to test the PH
- If it is higher than 7 your solution is alkaline. Bring the PH up to PH 9, this is a good starting entry point to modify dyes and inks with.
- Do the same with the other jar but take the PH all the way up to PH 13, this can modify your dyes severely so take it step by step to see all the hues you can create.
- Label the solution, mentioning the PH value and store in the glass jar or in a spray bottle.
1. **Making the acidic PH modifier**
- Boil the rest of the water and divide it over two glass jars
- Add half a teaspoon of citric acid to one, and stir to dissolve.
- Dip a piece of PH paper in to test the PH
- If it is lower than 7 your solution is turning acidic. Bring the PH down to 5 by adding little bits of citric acid.
- Do the same with the other jar but bring the PH all the way down to PH 2, this can modify some dyes severely.
- **NOTE**: if you don't have citric acid, you can work with lemon juice or vinegar but these are weaker acids. So work in the opposite order: put some vinegar/lemon juice in the jar, measure the PH and add a bit of water to bring the PH value up.
1. **Cut a PH paper booklet**
- When the coffee filters are totally dry, take them off the tray and fold them 3 times.
- Fold the sharp tip inward and secure with a paperclip, or staple, or sticky tape.
- Cut the closed fold open to separate the sheets
- Cut parallel lines into the stack of sheets (not all the way), to create strips you can tear off easily
1. **Make a legend for your PH paper**
- Tear 5 pieces off of your PH paper
- Dip them in each of your PH modifiers, and dip one in tap water
- Make sure they don't touch each other or lie in each others liquids.
- Let them dry and write on them the PH value of the modifier they were dipped into.
- Stick, glue or staple them on a piece of paper you can keep with your PH paper as reference.
1. **Using PH modifiers**
- Add the modifier directly to the dye to modify the entire batch (not recommended)
- Modify the dyed/stained material afterwards by dipping it into the modifier, spraying it on, or in some cases for textiles: let it simmer for 10 minutes on low heat.
- You can use both modifiers at the same time to create colorful patterns and stains.
- Some dyes allow you to go back and forth with the modifiers, but they will likely change if you modify them with PH 2 first and then bring it up to PH13, this could create hues than cannot be created using only one modifier.
- Dyes that already have an alkaline additive (like soda) or an acidic additive (like vinegar) are unlikely to respond strongly to the same modifier.
1. **Using the PH paper**
- Use the PH paper to test the PH value of dyes, solutions and even bioplastics mixtures.
- It is useful to know and record this information. For example, if a bioplastics mixture is very acidic (e.g. the starch-based plastics that contain vinegar), it will modify the color of a PH sensitive dye when you add it. Knowing this before hand will help you pick your dyes accordingly.
- Also testing the PH values of water can be useful. In some recipes you might need to know if your tap water is alkaline or not so you can assess whether you need to offset it by adding some vinegar or other acid to your recipe (e.g. for growing kombucha SCOBY).
*The cabbage dye on a coffee filter, drying, Loes Bogers, 2020*
*Folding the paper, Loes Bogers, 2020*
*Securing and cutting the paper, Loes Bogers, 2020*
*Cutting tear-off strips, Loes Bogers, 2020*
- Make a better design for the booklet, without wasting material.
- Experiment by combining PH modifiers with traditional tie-dyeing and printmaking techniques.
- Experiment by using the water-based dyes to stain paper and modify then while wet for organic water colors-like effects, or dry for clear, sharp contrasting colors.
- Research other foods that contain anthocyanin and make paper with juice and dyes from other fruits and vegetable waste.
Red cabbage juice has been known to be a PH indicator (origins unknown) and is a favourite for science experiments in education.
A historically more well-known PH indicator however, is the *litmus test*, a procedure ascribed to Spanish alchemist, astrologer and phycisian Arnaldus de Villa Nova, around 1300. The term litmus comes from an Old Norse word meaning "to dye or color." As such it is strongly associated with practices of alchemy, a precursor to contemporary science that has long been ridiculed for its esoteric philosophy, magic and quest to turn lead into gold. Eventually historians of science acknowledged alchemy for laying groundwork for science with many of its practical and experimental applications and techniques, such as litmus.
Litmus paper and universal PH scale is said to have been invented by J.L. Gay-Lussac in the early 1800s. The blue dye used for litmus paper was extracted from lichens (various types could be used for this and they grow in nearly every climate). The Netherlands was and is to this day a primary producer of litmus paper, using the local lichens variety called *lecanora tartarea*. Interestingly, lichens are commonly used as gauge for environmental quality because they are sensitive to various pollutants.
- **Biochromes** by Cecilia Raspanti for Fabricademy, Lecture slides, 15 October 2019: [link](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Ar8j0cJntsFiBxdnrhqTA_9lgDDzB1Wg/view?usp=sharing)
- **How to make Red Cabbage PH Paper** by Anne Marie Helmenstine for ThoughtCo, 2 February 2020: (https://www.thoughtco.com/make-red-cabbage-ph-paper-605993)
The dye might lose its ability to indicate PH because it is not very light fast. It's also not very precies and maybe less over time. PH of the modifiers might change over time as well, unclear how often they can be reused (further research needed).
- Reuse: partially, the PH modifiers are re-usable. PH paper is single use only
Needs further research?: not sure
## Material properties
### Comparative qualities
Less precise than litmus paper but precise enough to indicate acidity, neutral or alkaline PH. Might lose its properties as PH indicator over time (needs further research).
## About this entry
### Maker(s) of this sample
- Name: Loes Bogers
- Affiliation: Fabricademy student at Waag Textile Lab Amsterdam
- Location: Rotterdam, the Netherlands
- Date: 06-03-2020 – 16-03-2020
### Environmental conditions
- Outside temp: 5-11 degrees Celcius
- Room temp: 18 – 22 degrees Celcius
- PH tap water: 7-8
### Recipe validation
Has recipe been validated? Yes
By Cecilia Raspanti, Textile Lab, Waag Amsterdam, 9 March 2020
### Estimated cost (consumables) in local currency
## Copyright information
### This recipe is in the public domain (CC0)
Yes
### This recipe was previously published by someone else
Partially, the PH paper is a variation on **How to make Red Cabbage PH Paper** by Anne Marie Helmenstine for ThoughtCo, 2 February 2020: (https://www.thoughtco.com/make-red-cabbage-ph-paper-605993)
- **Biochromes** by Cecilia Raspanti for Fabricademy, Lecture slides, 15 October 2019: [link](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Ar8j0cJntsFiBxdnrhqTA_9lgDDzB1Wg/view?usp=sharing)
- **How to make Red Cabbage PH Paper** by Anne Marie Helmenstine for ThoughtCo, 2 February 2020: (https://www.thoughtco.com/make-red-cabbage-ph-paper-605993)
- **Litmus**, on Wikipedia, n.d.: [link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Litmus)
- **Litmus Paper**, on How Product are Made, n.d.:[link](http://www.madehow.com/Volume-6/Litmus-Paper.html)
- **From alchemy to chemistry**, by Khan Academy's Big History Project, [link](https://www.khanacademy.org/partner-content/big-history-project/stars-and-elements/other-material3/a/from-alchemy-to-chemistry)
*PH paper and PH modifiers, Loes Bogers, 2020*