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Video From LIVE FEEDBACK FRIDAY: Kathy Hattori Talks Ceriops Tagal

Last week for our live FEEDBACK FRIDAY, we had Botanical Colors President Kathy Hattori talking all things Ceriops tagal! Watch the video recording below: Shop Ceriops tagal HERE. Ceriops tagal, also known as Indian mangrove, is prized for its tannin-rich bark, which yields very dark red-brown on cellulose fibers. Mangroves are widely distributed in Southeast Asia, the Philippines, Indonesia and parts of Australia and the Pacific. They are an important tree in coastal ecosystems, and mangroves are under tremendous environmental stress from herbicide runoff to clear cutting groves for aquaculture. Strong management of mangroves to protect them but also allow … Read more

FEEDBACK FRIDAY: This Week in Natural Dye Questions

This week: Are natural dyes really compostable and besides eating rice, can we dye with it?

FEEDBACK FRIDAY: This Week in Natural Dye Questions

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] This week: You want a deep red and a dark blue and we deliver on how to do that.

Botanical Colors Natural Dye Glossary

There are so many terms and techniques in the natural dye space that we decided to create a natural dye glossary for you! Unless you work in a natural dye house full-time or have been doing dyeing since time immemorial, you’re not apt to know everything. We created this glossary of terms so that you can look like a plant dye master and a natural dyeing pro. Well, at least you’ll sound like it. Check out the terms below and shoot us an email if you think we left something out and need to add it! Natural Dye Glossary Alkaline: … Read more

FEEDBACK FRIDAY: This Week in Natural Dye Questions

This week: Bundle dyeing with zinnia flowers and a spotlight on, and recipe for, versatile wattle dye.

MORDANT MONDAY: Mordanted Pieces Resist Wetting Out

We get mordant questions all the time at Botanical Colors so why not create Mordant Monday??? Got mordanting questions? Email [email protected] YOU ASKED: I love the fact that aluminum triformate works with cold water. When I let mordanted pieces dry until I’m ready to use them, I have a hard time wetting them out before submerging them in a natural dye bath. Do you have an explanation or any tips? KATHY ANSWERED: I’ve noticed that alum mordanted fibers and fabrics can sometimes resist rewetting, especially in cold water. I’ve had skeins that I put in a water bath to rehydrate … Read more

Video From LIVE FEEDBACK FRIDAY: Dyes of the Américas

This week’s FEEDBACK FRIDAY was with Botanical Colors’ President Kathy Hattori who talked about and demoed Dyes of the Américas. We went through some native colors from North, Central and South America that are included in our new dye kit, Dyes of the Américas, as well as some locally grown specialties from our network of dye growers. Watch the video recording here: We’ve been working with some of the culturally significant and historical dyes that are native to the Americas. Many of these colors date back to ancient indigenous people, some used as early as the second century BC by … Read more

FEEDBACK FRIDAY: This Week in Natural Dye Questions

Each week, we are emailed with questions from our natural dye community asking simple and complex questions that we thought might be worth sharing. Here are a handful from this week answered by natural dyer in chief, Kathy Hattori, Founder of Botanical Colors: I have been printing with dye extracts on silk. My question is- once the fabric is mordanted, dunged, dyed, and steamed, can I over-dye the fabric without going through the mordant process again? You don’t need to remordant for additional overdyeing. If it’s been a long time between the initial dyeing and overdyeing, (like several years), then … Read more

MORDANT MONDAY: Post-Mordant Scouring?

We get mordant questions all the time at Botanical Colors so why not create Mordant Monday??? Got mordanting questions? Email [email protected] YOU ASKED: Can you store and then reuse symplocos mordant, the way you can alum mordants? If it can be stored, do you need refrigerate it or add cloves to keep it from going off, as you must with plant based dyes? KATHY ANSWERED: Symplocos baths may be reused several times but it does contain plant matter and will probably start to ferment if left for long periods of time, like over 2 weeks in a warm environment. You … Read more

The Beginner Dye Kit: Fustic Greens

Fun Facts about the Fustic in our Botanical Colors’ Beginner Dye Kit: Fustic (Chlorophora tinctoria or Maclura tinctoria) is a tall tropical hardwood that grows from Mexico to Argentina. Fustic is high in tannic acid, which makes it an ideal cotton dye. In fact, it was used in the military to dye the color khaki during World War I. On cotton, it will dye a clear gold and on silk and wool it will dye gold to brown-gold. Fustic also provides a good base for other colors: indigo overdyed with fustic creates a khaki green; combined with madder and cochineal to make oranges; and mixed with … Read more