[Sca-cooks] non-toxic dyes

[lilinah at earthlink.net]

If you're going to be dyeing, then you need a mordant.

The most common period mordant was alum. It was a much traded item
and any region that had some - it's a mineral - could trade it to
places without. There were several specific types - i don't have the
info handy, but some were known by the name of the site they were
mined.

  It isn't the kind that is in the supermarket. You need to buy it
from a place that sells dyes. In any case, it is relatively safe, and
unless you're doing a vat dye like indigo, you have to use a mordant,
sometimes just to get a color, in all cases to bond the dye with the
fiber so it won't just wash out.

Iron is also a mordant. It saddens, that is greys and darkens, colors.

Tannin is another natural mordant, but has a tendency to weaken the
cloth eventually. Tannin can be found in many natural sources - oak
trees - it's one of the things that makes acorns taste bad; black
tea; pomegranate skins. Tannin tends to add a slight yellow brown
color.

Tin began to be used in the 17th c. and chrome in the 18th. Both make
colors much brighter than alum. Both are, however, hazardous
chemicals, especially chrome, which most natural dyers have stopped
using. If you use tin, you need to find the safest way to dispose of
the mordant bath.

Anahita