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Organic Soybeans

MORDANT MONDAY: Is Soy Milk a Mordant?

August 18, 2025August 18, 2025

MORDANT MONDAY: Post-Mordant Scouring?

August 11, 2025August 11, 2025

Mordant Monday: Kakishibu (Persimmon Tannin)

July 7, 2025July 7, 2025

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botanicalcolors

Ancient dyes for modern times. Your resource for natural dyes, education and natural dye production.

For this Mordant Monday – we're bringing back a SO

For this Mordant Monday - we're bringing back a SOY Y.A.K.A!

YOU ASKED: I am working with earth pigments specifically clay. I am trying to wrap my head around the use of soy as a binder/mordant. Is a coating of soy necessary as an initial application? Then using pigment. Mixed with soy as design than a coating of soy over the whole dried material? Or what??

KATHY ANSWERED: Soy is used as a binder, a "glue" really, to attach clay and earth pigments to a fabric surface. It is not considered a mordant as it has a different chemical process. Soy milk acts as the glue to physically hold the pigment to the surface of the textile, and mordants create a chemical bond. You can pre-treat the fabric with soy milk by brushing a light and even coat of prepared soy milk before applying the pigment. You can also mix the earth pigment powder with soy milk for additional binding power and apply it. Once you have applied your pigments, the soy creates a bond that strengthens over time. John Marshall recommends a cure time of 3 months for the soy to completely bond with the fibers and pigments. He has an entire book called Salvation Through Soy dedicated to the use of soy milk as a textile auxiliary as it has been used in Japan for centuries as a textile binder.

You can even lightly brush a soy milk layer over the dried design. All of these methods will work to attach the clay pigment to the fiber and you can choose the method that works best for you.

Please note that a soy milk binder alone will not attach a pigment to fabric strongly enough for washable items, such as a t-shirt. However, soy milk is a valuable tool as a binder and also enhances colors for dyes on cellulose fibers. If you are interested in diving down this rabbit hole, we have a few links for your to explore.

Head to the blog to read more!

#soymilk #botanicalcolors #mordantmonday #soymordant

Chromatic Transformations: An Online Workshop Reco

Chromatic Transformations: An Online Workshop Recording in Other Worldly Surface design is now available!

Learn how to create dynamic patterns on cotton and silk by modifying the pH of your natural dyes with @caramariepiazza .

The class is pre - recorded and comes with an extensive pdf of resources and step by step interdictions. Head to the workshops section of our website to learn more!

Our sulfur cosmos are here. Cc @vibrantvalleyfarm.

Our sulfur cosmos are here. Cc @vibrantvalleyfarm. We like them so much we put them on sale. Enjoy your Friday. That is all.

Guess what! Chlorophyllin is back on the shelves!

Guess what! Chlorophyllin is back on the shelves!

Let’s talk about chlorophyllin green dye. Although chlorophyll is the most common green plant color in the natural world, it is tricky to use as a dye. To create green as chlorophyll in its raw state is not stable for textile coloring. That’s why grass stains fade to buff and deciduous leaves lose their chlorophyll and change to brilliant red and gold in the fall. The vivid green of the natural world is a photosynthesis engine but not necessarily a robust dye.

There is however, a preparation where chlorophyll green dyes fibers and that is by using chlorophyllin. Chlorophyllin is extracted chlorophyll from dark leafy green plants. It has been treated to make it water soluble and stable with the addition of sodium and metal salts. We offer chlorophyllin derived from mulberry tree leaves.

More about Chlorophyllin Green Extract
The color yield from chlorophyllin is a soft, clear green with a hint of blue. Like many natural dyes, it appears to dye protein (animal) fibers well and create lighter shades on cellulose (plant) fibers. The dye is less lightfast than our traditional workhorse dyes but it adds a nice pop of green to your palette. For longest lasting color, consider using protein fibers and protecting your work from constant light exposure.

Chlorophyllin is strong. We dyed all the cotton swatches in the photo (45 grams) using less than a gram of chlorophyllin powder with just a tiny amount of exhaust left over. Suggested percentages for use are 1-5% on the weight of fiber (WOF). A 25 gram package of chlorophyllin will dye approximately 1250 grams (2.75 lbs) of fiber a light medium green so a little will go a long way. For more detailed instructions, please see our page on how to dye with natural dye extracts.

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