Blog - Botanical Colors

Mordant Monday: Middle Mordant in Toronto

Thank you to Rachel MacHenry and Gitte Hansen of Contemporary Textile Studio Co-operative for the lovely photos! I taught a one day workshop on middle mordant using Japanese dyes in Toronto on Friday, and had a great time with the students. This was the first time we’d tried the technique using only Japanese dyes that we extracted, and we also had a side trip into kakishibu which didn’t require any mordant, but made a beautiful shade. I’ve written about middle mordanting before: Catharine Ellis has a nice recipe and procedure in her book and Studio Notes, and I’ve also seen … Read more

Sunday Visit: Victoria Manganiello of Craftwork. The Intersection of Technology & Craft.

In this edition of Botanical Colors’ Sunday Visit series, we sit down with Victoria Manganiello, the innovative textile artist and co-founder of Craftwork, whose work blurs the boundaries between ancient weaving traditions and cutting-edge technology. From her early days experimenting with knitting and macramé to her current projects that fuse natural dyes, fiber optics, and computer programming, Manganiello’s practice is a testament to the power of collaboration, curiosity, and storytelling. Join us as we delve into her journey—exploring how she weaves together history, materiality, and digital code to create textiles that are as poetic as they are thought-provoking. Early Influences: … Read more

Mordant Monday: Make a Natural Dye Rainbow for Pride Month!

For this Mordant Monday, we are bringing back our Pride Rainbow! We love rainbows, color gradations, anything to show off the beauty and nuance of natural dyes. And now with our pre-mordanted bandanas, you can make a rainbow of your own! Materials Experience level Familiarity with using natural dye extracts, or using raw materials in an immersion dye bath, and with overdyeing colors. Familiarity with indigo and indigo over dyeing. A 6 pack of pre-mordanted bandanas Yellow Orange Red Green Blue or Indigo Purple Process In this rainbow, the “primary” colors of Yellow, Red and Blue along with Purple are … Read more

Mordant Monday: Ceriops Tagal (No Mordant Required!)

Pictured here is our drying line from our recent tour to The Threads of Life Bali. The black pieces are Ceriops overdyed in Indigo. Today, we’re taking a look at Ceriops Tagal, a “red” tannin from Indonesia, and a color that is rich in history and traditional use. We are excited to present it to you again as it was one of our favorite dyes to work with while we were at The Threads of Life Bali. At Botanical Colors, we recognize that the mangrove species is threatened due to widespread clearing of mangrove forests for timber, fish farming and … Read more

A Humble, Ingenious Leaf Mordant: Symplocos

The plant world contains species that draw alum from the soil and store them in their tissue – they’re referred to as alum accumulators or hyper accumulators. There’s a plant species called symplocos that is an alum accumulator and contains enough alum to be used as a plant-based mordant. We carry symplocos and are happy to have a new shipment arriving this week, so it’s a good time to review this mordant alternative with a great backstory. The Story of Symplocos In 2005 and 2006, The Bebali Foundation (a partner enterprise to Threads of Life that focuses on sustainable economic … Read more

Mordant Monday: Morinda Roots and Our Time With Threads of Life

Usually for our Mordant Monday, we dive into a mordant topic, alas we’re in Bali and we have no idea what day it is! For this week’s blog post, we are changing it up as we’re feeling so nourished and inspired by our time in Bali, we needed to share it with you all. We’re drawing on the end of our trip and are gobsmacked by the kindness, patience and extensive knowledge the Threads of Life and their team are so graciously bestowing upon us. Here we share with you the process of learning about Morinda Roots and how they … Read more

Sunday Visit: Lindsay Degen of Degen Knitwear

Sunday Visit is our interview series that invites you to settle in with a cup of tea as we sit down with a visionary from the natural dye, textile, and art world. This week, we’re thrilled to share our conversation with Lindsay Degen, founder of DEGEN knitwear, whose playful approach to knitting and bold, geometric motifs have made her a standout in contemporary craft. Like all our Sunday Visits, this interview dives deep into Lindsay’s creative journey-from her earliest stitches learned as a child, to her innovative partnership with Botanical Colors exploring the painterly possibilities of natural dyes. We hope you … Read more

Mordant Monday: Overdyeing: Indigo First, or Indigo Second?

We get mordant questions all the time at Botanical Colors so why not create Mordant Monday??? Got mordanting questions? Email [email protected] YOU ASKED: Do you always dye indigo first before overdyeing with another color? Does it make any difference? KATHY ANSWERED: When I was starting out, I was advised to dye with indigo first, rinse, mordant my fabric, and then dye with a mordant color second in order to create any type of compound color when indigo is involved. We largely agree with this as most of our production colors start with an indigo shade that we dip. We seem … Read more

Sunday Visit: Hudson Valley Seed Company

Welcome to this week’s Sunday Visit, our ongoing interview series where we explore the creative, inspiring, and deeply rooted stories shaping our botanical and fiber community. Today, we’re thrilled to sit down with the Hudson Valley Seed Company, a pioneering force in preserving biodiversity, seed storytelling, and sustainable agriculture from their vibrant base in Accord, New York. From humble beginnings in a public library catalog to becoming the largest producer of Northeast-grown and adapted seeds, the Hudson Valley Seed Company has blossomed into a national leader in open-pollinated, heirloom, and organic seeds-each one packaged in artist-designed envelopes that celebrate the living … Read more

Mordant Monday: Does Indigo Damage Mordants

We get mordant questions all the time at Botanical Colors so why not create Mordant Monday??? Got mordanting questions? Email [email protected] 2 light indigo dips on mordanted silk before immersing in exhaust dye baths to make pastels YOU ASKED: My question involves the processes of indigo dyeing when combined with other plant dyes that have been mordanted with aluminum acetate. My understanding is that citric acid discharges the mordant and also neutralizes the alkalinity of indigo as a last step in finishing indigo dyed cloth. How would you go about neutralizing indigo without discharging mordant? For some processes, I am … Read more