mordant monday Archives - Botanical Colors

Mordant Monday: A NERD’S GUIDE TO MORDANTS

Kathy is currently creating magic at Sanborn Mills for her Nerd’s Guide to Mordants workshop. We decided to give you a little taste into all of the beautiful mordant variations she is creating for this workshop and some of the key considerations you should take into account when beginning to mordant. For all of you budding mordant nerds out there, here are some highlights of what is covered during the class. We are working on bringing this class to you in online form, so here is a little teaser while you wait! What is a Mordant? A mordant is a … Read more

Mordant Monday: In the clutches of Cutch

This week’s Mordant Monday explores another well known and important tannin: Cutch. Cutch is a wood dye from Senegalia catechu (formerly Acacia catechu), an acacia species that grows in South and Southeast Asia. The dye is both a colorant, and a traditional medicine. It is also the by-product from the manufacture of “katha”, which is a crystalline substance that is an ingredient in paan or betel nut leaf, which is an Indian mouth freshener and digestive. We’ve never tried paan, but we love cutch for its versatility and deep colors. It’s a sweet-smelling dye and the color yield ranges from … Read more

Mordant Monday: A Rainbow Compilation!

We wanted to compile all of our rainbow tutorials so you could have access to them all in the same place. We love creating them for you, and seeing the beautiful creations you make with your tutorials. Please tag us on social media so we can see what you make! Try making the rainbow yourself!

MORDANT MONDAY: A Plant-Based Option For Mordanting?

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 trying to make my natural dye practice completely plant-based, which also includes my mordant. I’ve used sumac and different nuts in the fall, tea and avocado pits, but do you sell a plant-based mordant? I still want to get great color and not all plant-based “mordants” are getting me to where I want to be. KATHY ANSWERED: We do! Symplocos is an exciting alternative that will give you the mordanting power as your base. We are … Read more

MORDANT MONDAY: Do I Need To Mordant When Using Liquid Tannin?

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 am using your liquid tannin on cotton. Beyond scouring, I was wondering if it is sufficient to use liquid tannin (on cotton t-shirts) as a mordant before using the other liquid dyes? Or, do I need to mordant cottons at all when using these liquids? Do I need to alum them as well? I have aluminum triformate currently so was thinking to use this. KATHY ANSWERED: I hope I’m answering your question here. If you want to use Liquid … Read more

MORDANT MONDAY: Do I Need To Re-Mordant 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 have scoured the internet trying to find an answer to this question, with no luck other than to ask you 🙂 I am dyeing my fabric (scoured and mordanted with tara tannin, aluminum acetate, chalk bath) and want to eco print flowers onto the fabric afterwards. Do I re-mordant or is the previous mordant still viable after the fabric has been dyed as the water reaches 180 degrees. I use your plant extracts to dye and … Read more

MORDANT MONDAY: Iron + Mordant=A “Weird Feeling”

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 bought iron from you guys to use to dye some wool fabric. I used it in a dye bath with coffee. I used your alum to mordant prior to dyeing in advance. I’m concerned I let the fabric sit too long in the coffee + iron bath because it now has a sort of weird feeling to it, almost a coating on it. Curious if there is a way to remedy this? KATHY ANSWERED: Sometimes too … Read more

MORDANT MONDAY: Safe Mordant Disposal With Well Systems

We get mordant questions all the time at Botanical Colors so why not create Mordant Monday??? Got mordanting questions? Email [email protected] YOU ASKED: Am I right that a mordant bath is tired based on how many uses and the WOF? Safe mordant disposal for us rural artists with well systems and no municipal drain…do I need to neutralize with soda ash or is that step unnecessary? My tap water is ph6. Can I water plants or feed the spent bath to the spruce trees? KATHY ANSWERED: You can definitely recharge alum baths. We support that as a way to get … Read more

MORDANT MONDAY: Tannin Mordanting Cotton & Stiff Wool

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 getting ready to dye vintage cotton runners. I have aluminum acetate, which tannin powder would you recommend? Weight of fiber protocol?I have a bag of wool roving and also trying to figure out the best way to handle. Last time I ran it through a dye bath it dried dull and stiffish. What do I need to do next? KATHY ANSWERED: The choice of which tannin is really up to your preference. We like to use … Read more

MORDANT MONDAY: Scouring & Mordanting Raw Silk

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 was wondering what is the best way to scour or mordant raw silk? I know you have on your site that info for silk but just wanted to ask if that applied the same for raw silk as well. KATHY ANSWERED: Raw silk, also referred to as silk noil, is the carded short waste pieces from silk reeling that are carded and spun before weaving or knitting. The fiber is medium weight, textured, matte and can … Read more