aluminum sulfate Archives - Botanical Colors

Mordant Monday: Middle Mordant Magic

In this week’s Mordant Monday, we discuss Middle Mordant. Middle Mordant is a technique that I learned about from The Art and Science of Natural Dyes. It’s considered to be a Japanese technique and is a simple way to create rich color on silk. Middle mordant uses room temperature dye baths and you can repeat the process until the fabric is the color you want. The purpose of middle mordant is to deepen the depth of shade and most of the examples I’ve seen use silk fabric and alum mordant. There are somewhat similar techniques that old dye books discuss, … Read more

MORDANT MONDAY: Alum From The Supermarket To Eco Print?

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 teach kids paper making and am starting an eco print enrichment this week. We are using cotton fabric. I bought alum at the grocery store thinking it was all I needed to soak the fabrics and have them bond with the flower dye, but as I read more into the topic I only find myself more confused at the minute differences. I just want the pigment from the flower petals to bond with the fiber for learning … Read more

MORDANT MONDAY: How To Recharge Mordants & Assists

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 have mind-bending questions about the mordants that can be refreshed like aluminum acetate, aluminum sulfate and aluminum triformate. Is it different with different mordants? And what happens with the assists like soda ash or cream of tartar, if I put them together with the mordant, do I also need to recharge it as well with 25/50%? KATHY ANSWERED: Typically aluminum sulfate, aluminum potassium sulfate and aluminum acetate are refreshed at 50% and aluminum triformate is refreshed at 10%. … Read more

MORDANT MONDAY: Is Aluminum Acetate A Better Mordant Than Aluminum Sulfate?

We get mordant questions all the time at Botanical Colors so why not create Mordant Monday??? Got mordanting questions? Email [email protected] YOU ASKED: For plant fibers I was taught to use aluminum acetate for the mordant and then rinse in calcium carbonate to neutralize the acetate. That extra step is minor, but I’m wondering whether aluminum acetate is a better mordant than aluminum sulfate. It sure is more expensive! KATHY ANSWERED: Yes, that is the mordant process that we use as well. I don’t think that aluminum acetate is necessarily a better mordant, but it does have some strengths over … Read more

MORDANT MONDAY: How To Reuse A Tannin Bath

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’m wondering if its possible to reuse a tannin bath, perhaps by using half as much tannin powder the second time as one can do when re using a mordant bath? Recently I have made a tannin bath for linen and have lots left over, it would be great not to throw it out! Secondly, I usually rinse the fabric after mordanting and before dyeing- is this correct? KATHY ANSWERED: I think recharging and reusing tannin baths … Read more

Easy How-To Make A Lake Pigment

Lots of you have asked us for a how-to on making lake pigments. We thought we’d skip an amateur tutorial from us and go straight to the pro… Lake pigment queen Natalie Stopka! If you don’t know Natalie, she’s an artist and educator who works in collaboration with the materials and forces of the natural world. Her drawings and prints incorporate plant dyes and historical pigments, which provide a seasonally evolving vocabulary of texture and color. We’ve been pretty obsessed with her work since the day we met her. For more information on lake pigments – their myriad hues, chemistry, … Read more

MORDANT MONDAY: Aluminum Sulfate For Cellulose?

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 realized I purchased aluminum sulfate instead of potassium aluminum sulfate. I am mostly looking to dye cellulose fabric yardage. Will aluminum sulfate work as a mordant for cellulose fibers? KATHY ANSWERED: Yes, it will work: aluminum sulfate and aluminum potassium sulfate are largely interchangeable. It used to be that aluminum sulfate could contain traces of iron, which would shift colors, but most modern day aluminum sulfate is pretty “clean” – at least I haven’t had an … Read more

MORDANT MONDAY: Can A Cold Water Mordant Deepen Colors?

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 recently purchased some aluminum triformate from you all. I tried the aluminum triformate using it at 10% WOF hoping to get the strongest results possible. So far I have only the aluminum sulfate to compare it to. It seems the aluminum sulfate samples are much darker, especially the reds, although I am not finished with all the colors. I am wondering if this is typically the case? Is there anything you would suggest to coax … Read more

MORDANT MONDAY: Hair Dyeing, Dog Toys & Sticky Angora

We get mordant questions all the time at Botanical Colors so why not create Mordant Monday??? Got mordanting questions? Email [email protected] (Image: The Dogwood Dyer) YOU ASKED: Hi there! I’m interested in your products, particularly the cochineal, and I’m wondering if I can use it for dyeing my hair. If so, do the same instructions work that are listed here? I’ve seen The Dogwood Dyer’s instructions here and it sounds like she’s putting the alum directly in the dye. I’d like to achieve a pink color like what she did. I’d so appreciate if you could help me understand exactly how … Read more

MORDANT MONDAY: If It’s Tannin Rich Do You Need Mordant?

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’ve read that natural dye materials with a high tannin level don’t need a mordant to dye wool. I have a rain barrel that collects run-off from the roof. The roof is under a huge maple tree, which over the course of the seasons, drops flower clusters, seeds, leaves and sticks onto the roof. This turns the runoff water in the rain barrel a brownish color. I believe this is due to the tannin in these items? … Read more