This week: Too many topics to list, just read!
tannins
Darker Colors with Aluminum Acetate Questions for FEEDBACK FRIDAY
This week: Interesting questions on pre and post-treatments for color and lightfastness
Cold Water Dyeing Questions for FEEDBACK FRIDAY
This week: Mordanting like Native Americans once did, mobile natural dyeing and fresh leaf indigo vs. extract.
A Good Black on Silk Yarn for FEEDBACK FRIDAY
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: What is the best natural fixative for cotton? All tannins (chestnut, tara, myrobalan, cutch, etc) may be used to pre-mordant or mordant cellulose fibers but the recommended mordant is tannin and alum, and depending on the type of alum you are using, sometimes a post bath is also recommended. Instructions are given in our How To Section. … Read more
Mordant for my Dye Garden for FEEDBACK FRIDAY
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: Is there any way to remove iron from fabric to brighten it up? Iron is a reliably “permanent” mordant, which is why it is used to enhance light and “washfastness” with dyes that are weak in these categories. I have not seen a reversible method for removing iron. I keep getting mixed answers from people about dyeing … Read more