In her class last Thursday, University assistant professor Lisa McRoberts rolled in a cart loaded with various fruits and spices for
communal class use. 
However, this isn’t a culinary class — it’s a fashion design class.
Students in the department of textiles, apparel design and merchandising are experimenting with eco-friendly dyes in their clothing designs in addition to unnatural dyes such as the popular brand Rit. 
While the unnatural dyes might often yield more vibrant primary colors, according to The Rit Studio website, the dyes are made from “a combination of various acids and direct dyes along with sodium chloride.”
McRoberts said she doesn’t prohibit her students from using unnatural dyes, but she encourages them to use more eco-friendly alternatives. 
“I want to teach them ecological methods of dying,” McRoberts said. “Like using natural fruits, flora and fauna that is native to Baton Rouge.”  
This promotion of natural dyes is part of a larger attempt to convince student designers to use more ecological materials, specifically Louisiana cotton, called the Cotton Project.
The Cotton Project is a grant from Cotton Incorporated that was awarded to McRoberts, associate professor of merchandising Chuanlan Liu and human ecology instructor Debbie Welker to promote the use of cotton products. McRoberts said this extends to the natural dyeing of cotton and use of other eco-friendly techniques. 
McRoberts said the grant covers the cost of fabrics for the students, and their garments are put into a cotton competition with three categories: fabric design, cotton illustrating and creative use of cotton garments. Monetary awards up to $1,500 have been given to students as prizes for the
competition finalists.
In her design class, McRoberts uses examples of natural products found in Louisiana’s ecosystem or are distinctive to the state. These include saffron, strawberries, beets, blueberries, chamomile tea and coffee. 
McRoberts said Louisianians are “blessed” with natural fruits and berries that can be used in fabric dyeing. Louisiana red camellias, for example, produce a dark pink color.
Some natural dyes are also representative of Louisiana culture. For example, saffron starts out as a vibrant red color, but it dyes fabric a bright gold color, McRoberts said.
Historically, this gold color was reserved for the clothes of royalty or upper class members of society. Paired with a bold purple, LSU’s color scheme represents the more regal shades in the dyeing spectrum. 
Along with the process of naturally applying color to fabric, McRoberts said there are multiple ways to restrict or control the dye to make certain patterns or shapes emerge. Four types of dyeing methods she teaches are using resist dyes, bleaching, thread with wax and wax dyeing. 
Resist dyeing is a method that prevents or resists the dye from reaching every piece of the fabric, so a pattern emerges. 
Bleaching is the process of lightening or whitening fabric to yield a more flushed version of color. For example, a piece of fabric can be placed in the sun with a flower resting on it, and the natural dye will soak into the fabric.
Thread with wax or traditional wax dyeing refers to using wax as a type of resistor to create a distinctive pattern, then removing the wax by rewarming it. 
Natural dyeing is slightly more difficult because certain fabrics, like cotton, absorb the dye better than others. 
McRoberts said hydrophilic fabric, or fabric that “likes water,” is the best when working with natural products, while non-natural dyes will dye
anything. 
The Cotton Project is a way to promote the state’s agricultural products because Louisiana produces a vast amount of cotton as well as many other agricultural items such as various fruits and flowers, McRoberts said. This project also exposes the students to non-traditional methods in the wide range of fashion design.
You can reach Michael Tarver on Twitter @michael_T16.

Gallery • 5 Photos

Javier Fernández

Teacher Lisa McRoberts shows her design students how to use natural dyes as an Eco-friendly alternative Thursday, October 23, 2014.