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The Latest from our blog

MORDANT MONDAY: Post-Mordant Scouring?

August 11, 2025August 11, 2025

Mordant Monday: Kakishibu (Persimmon Tannin)

July 7, 2025July 7, 2025

MORDANT MONDAY: How To Reuse A Tannin Bath

June 30, 2025June 30, 2025

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botanicalcolors

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

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.

Today we are bringing you a fun Mordant Monday rer

Today we are bringing you a fun Mordant Monday rerun!

MORDANT MONDAY: Post-Mordant Scouring?

YOU ASKED: I just got Aluminum Triformate from you guys and followed the directions on the mordant process. Today I read from a blogger about scouring fabric prior to mordanting and I’m hoping to still do that. Is it ok to scour now after I have put my fabric through the mordant process? Or should I start over?

KATHY ANSWERED: If your fabric is considered PFD or RFD (prepared for dyeing or ready for dyeing), you should not need to scour prior to mordanting. If you have a "raw" fabric such as silk noil, heavy hemp, or loomstate cotton, you should scour. I don't know how useful scouring after mordanting will be since the purpose of scouring is to remove excess dirt, oils, starch, wax and pectin from from fibers before applying a mordant or dye. Instead of starting over, why don't you try a test with the existing fabric as you've prepared it and see if you like the results? You can cut a small swatch and dye it and then make a decision.

Head to our blog to read more of Kathy's answers along with some ways to use Symplocos as a mordant!

Summertime Yellows! Have you tried our weld? Wel

Summertime Yellows!

Have you tried our weld? Weld (Reseda luteola) is the most lightfast of the yellow dyes. Ancient tapestry weavers in Central Asia, Turkey and Europe used the dye.

Weld is the brightest and clearest yellow flower dye. In combination with iron, weld creates a rich chartreuse or, when overdyed with indigo, yields a clear lime green. We carry a very fine grade of weld extract that is also certified for organic textile processing in compliance with the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS).

25g of weld extract will dye approximately 800g (1.75 pounds) of fiber to a dark yellow shade. Adding a pinch of soda ash and calcium carbonate to weld while you are dissolving it deepens the shade and the color yield from the dyestuff. For more detailed instructions, please visit our page on natural dye extracts.

Did you know you could combine weld with logwood extract to make green?

There is still time to sign up for @caramariepiazz

There is still time to sign up for @caramariepiazza ‘s Online Workshop: Chromatic Transformations: Natural Dye Chemistry and pH-Responsive Color Shifting on Cotton & Silk – August 9th, 2025

Starts at 12pm PST/3PM EDT  Ends at 2:30pm pst/5:30pm EDT Online Via Zoom : You will receive a PDF with the zoom link after purchase.

Originally Cara’s workshop on creating cosmic night sky patterns, Cara has now modified this workshop to include an entire range of tannin bases, along with other dyes that are susceptible to being modified with simple kitchen chemistry. A great addition to Twilight Tannins, you will build and create swatches on both Cotton & Silk in this workshop. Cara will guide you through methodical approaches to dyeing and how simple changes in pH can create stunning, shifting colors on fabric.

What This Workshop Is About:
Natural dyes have a unique magic, terroir and alchemical properties. Many of them change color depending on their chemical environment. In this class, you’ll learn how to work with these dyes in a thoughtful, hands-on way, experimenting with acids and alkalis to shift colors and create beautiful, otherworldly surface designs inspired by our galaxy.

Click the link in our stories to sign up.
#botanicalcolors #ph #naturaldye #naturaldyeworkshop

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