ANST - natural dyeing ...
jhartel
jhartel at net-link.net
Wed Jul 1 04:10:52 PDT 1998
I have been rereading some of the posts on the natural dyeing topic and
realized I threw out a few words that someone unfamilar with natural
dyeing might not understand. The word that hit me the hardest was
"mordant". So here goes...A "mordant" is a mineral salt that is used
either in the dyebath itself, or as a pre/post wash of the fibers that
were dyed. Thes minerals effect the color of the dye and help to hold
the color to the fiber. (wool, cotton, silk, etc...) I used several
mordants when I dye. I use alum (kitchen type since I have not found
the other), Iron and copper which I purchased from a dyeing company.
Chrome and tin are other mordants.
The iron content in the water up here in Michigan is pretty high and I
can see where it has effected my dyeing. While in Texas, I dyed using
dandelion heads and got some very bright yellows. I used the
dandelions from here with the same mordants as I used in Texas, only to
have the colors come out a bit more subdued. It could be from the water
or perhaps the soil differences.
Hpe this helps some...
Moriel***
[who is "really" starting to wonder about dyeing with that hydrangia
bush...]
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