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Cellulose Scour

Cellulose Scour (CS) is designed for use with cellulose fibers. It works on cellulose and bast fibers in combination with soda ash and heat and thoroughly cleans cellulose fibers, removing excess wax and other materials that inhibit the takeup of dye. For detailed instructions, visit our page on how to scour. Please note: cellulose scour color may vary from clear to a pale straw. From our Feedback Friday series: I’ve seen some instructions for scouring cellulose fiber that say to just use soda ash. So I’m wondering what the Cellulose Scour adds to the process? CS is a surfactant and helps with … Read more

Gallo Tannin extract

Gallo tannin extract (sometimes refered to simply as tannin) comes from gall nuts, which contain approximately 50-60% tannin and has a lovely tea-like aroma. The dye is very light, imparting a subtle beige color. Its power comes when it is combined with iron to create silver, gray and black in combination with other dyes. 250g of tannin will mordant approximately 5000g (11 lbs) of goods when used at 5% of the weight of fiber (WOF). For more detailed instructions, please see our page on natural dye extracts. If you are interested in other dyes that have high tannin content, we … Read more

Mordanted Hemp-Cotton Towel Eco-Print Kit

We mordanted some very vintage hemp-cotton towels so you can get right to the fun part: dyeing! These towels were mordanted with oak gall tannin and aluminum sulfate and are ready for bundle dyeing. We supply marigold, logwood and onion skins with the towels. Sprinkle, roll, wrap and steam and you are done! Follow our easy instructions below and make a hostess gift or brighten your kitchen. The towels are a silvery taupe shade. Some have subtle marks and stains as the fabric is unused but over 50 years old and these will blend right in once the towel is … Read more

Mordant Monday: Celebrating Earth Day & Vibrant Valley Blue

We are thrilled to introduce a new, Pacific Northwest-based indigo paste from the incredible growers and dyers at Vibrant Valley Farm. Kara Gilbert and her skilled team created Vibrant Valley Blue, a Persicaria tinctoria indigo extract. This product is based on years of growing, harvesting and experimenting with varieties, cultivation and extraction and they’ve scaled their production from a few hundred starts to a robust crop of over 10,000 plants. The resulting indigo paste is easy to use and creates a beautiful clear blue. Kara used this indigo to dye a number of garments and styles to hold fashion shows … Read more

Vibrant Valley Blue Indigo Paste

The Art and Craft of Natural Dyeing by J.N. Liles

From the Publisher: For several thousand years, all dyes were of animal, vegetable, or mineral origin. And many ancient civilizations possessed excellent dye technologies. The first synthetic dye was produced in 1856. And the use of traditional dyes declined rapidly thereafter. By 1915 industry or craftspeople used few non-synthetics. The craft revivals of the 1920s explored traditional methods of natural dyeing to some extent, particularly with wool. Though the great eighteenth- and nineteenth-century dye manuals, which recorded the older processes, remained largely forgotten. In The Art and Craft of Natural Dyeing, J. N. Liles consolidates the lore of the older dyers … Read more

Soda Ash

Soda ash (SA), also known as sodium carbonate, is a workhorse in the dye studio. It is an easy way to add alkalinity to a dyebath to modify its shade. For example, when added to a madder dye bath, soda ash will cause it to redden. It is also an easy way to raise the pH of an indigo vat or scour silk fibers. From our Feedback Friday series: Is soda ash the same as washing soda? In other words can I substitute washing soda for use in scouring linen? And do I use the same amount? I want to dye with … Read more

Make Ink: A Forager’s Guide to Natural Inkmaking

Designer and artist Jason Logan founded The Toronto Ink Company in 2014. It started as a citizen science experiment to make eco-friendly, urban ink from street-harvested pigments. In Make Ink: A Forager’s Guide to Natural Inkmaking, Logan delves into the history of inkmaking and the science of distilling pigment from the natural world. Readers will learn how to forage for materials such as soot, rust, cigarette butts, peach pits, and black walnut. Then how to mix, test, and transform these ingredients into rich, vibrant inks that are sensitive to both place and environment. Organized by color, and featuring lovely minimalist … Read more

Beam Paints Indigenous-Made Watercolors: Beaver Pond Palette

While supplies last, buy any Beam Paint and get a free Beam Paint watercolor sample as a gift! We are excited to offer a range of indigenous-made watercolors from Beam Paints on Manitoulin Island in Canada. Beam Paints is located in M’Chigeeng First Nation on Manitoulin Island/Mnidoo Mnising. Beam Paints watercolors are for use on paper and are not textile dyes. But their products are a wonderful intersection of colors derived from high quality pigments and ingredients. Anong Beam has been very thoughtful about the pigments she uses. She has rigorously tested her paints for lightfastness and safety. I think … Read more

Organic Indigo Ink – 3 Varieties

Organic Indigo Ink We offer 3 indigo ink varieties created by Judi Pettite of Biohue, our ink maker extraordinaire. Each variety has a slightly different blue shade and viscosity and all are beautiful! Judi Pettite started BioHue in 2006 after falling in love with colors she was getting from plants. Since that time, she has foraged, purchased or grown the materials for her art. She makes her inks and watercolors intentionally from the fewest ingredients possible. This minimalist approach also allows the personality of the plant to come through. We love Judi’s work! So we thought taking Botanical Colors’ most … Read more