Marigold Mix

Description

We are especially pleased at how well marigold mix dyes cellulose fibers. So it’s a great way to create that sunny yellow on cotton and linen. (Kamala extract  works best with animal fibers and silk.) For details on how to use marigold mix, please see our page on natural dye extracts.

Marigolds are native to Central America but are used as temple flowers in India and used lavishly during the Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) when Mexican families celebrate their departed loved ones. Elaborate altars and memorials are festooned with flowers, special sweets and remembrances of family members. A trip to the cemetery to clean and decorate graves, reminisce and celebrate are all part of this special ceremony.

As dyers, it’s no secret we love marigolds – a true workhorse in the dye garden whose shades range from bronzy yellow to gold when dyed fresh. So we are happy to offer our popular marigold mix extract, a very bright and rich yellow color made from a mixture of marigold, kamala and tesu blossom extracts.

From our Feedback Friday series:

Can you please give me extra notes on using your Marigold Extract with cotton? Do I need to mordant or not? I’m using it in combination with a 1-2-3 indigo vat to get shades of yellow, green, and blue.

Yes, definitely mordant when using Marigold Mix. It requires some method of fixing. For best results, use tannin first, then an alum mordant.  This increases lightfastness for most dyes, especially with cotton and other cellulose fibers.

Here’s a palette with natural dye recipes suitable for that end of summer transition where the light turns golden and the air cools. The Orange Red reminds us of the underside of a liquid amber leaf; the Bright Olive is a neutral, gray-green, and the Creamy Beige is surprising in that we don’t often think about dyeing light tan shades, but this one is easy and elegant.

Orange Red (on silk fabric)
15% Aluminum sulfate mordant
4% madder extract

Bright Olive (on cotton muslin)
5% Aluminum Acetate mordant
5% pomegranate extract
2% marigold mix extract
1%rich logwood purple

Creamy Beige (on silk fabric)
15% Aluminum sulfate mordant
4% Quebracho Moreno