Scouring
Whether you are getting your material to dye from a big box store, a thrift store, or straight from the source, you should always scour the material to clean it as best as possible. We recommend using the soap Synthrapol and either hand washing or machine washing depending on your fabric. If your material is well used, you may need to use a more aggressive detergent or put it through several washes.
Mordanting
We like to have a dedicated mordanting vat in the dye lab.
Mordant Recipe:
Dissolve alum at a 12% WoF ratio in boiling water, enough water to ensure that your fabric will be fully submerged and then some. Completely dissolve the alum and let cool.
In a separate pot, dissolve soda ash at 1.5% WoF ratio in boiling water and let cool.
Combine the alum and soda ash mixtures in a large container and stir.
After letting the bubbles from the chemical reaction to pop, place the fabric in the mordant.
Add warm water if the fabric is not completely submerged.
Let the fabric sit in the mordant for at least 1 to 2 hours, up to 48 hours.
Wearing gloves, remove the fabric and ring out excess mordant back into the container. The remaining mordant can be reused.
Rinse the fabric well and can be dyed immediately or let dry for future use.
To top off your mordant vat, dissolve 20 grams of aluminum triformate per liter of water until you have enough to submerge your fabric.
Throughout our trials and experiments, we have found many things that work and do not work. Below are just a few of the tricks to get the best results.
Use only natural fibers. Natural dyes do not work on synthetic materials such as polyester or nylon.
Have dedicated dying pots and tools. The dye baths can stain the pots, especially with repeated use.
When using dried materials, a 1:1 dye material to WoF is a great place to start if you do not know what color you expect to produce. Using a higher ratio of dye material will result in a richer color.
In our experience, fresh materials often need higher than 1:1 WoF. The weight of water that fresh materials contain often takes up weight that would normally have pigment in dried material.
Depending on how saturated you want the color to be, you can leave fiber in the cooled dye pot overnight. This will allow the fiber to absorb more pigment.
Make sure to keep your hot baths to a simmer, unless it's specified that they should be boiled. Some pigments are sensitive to heat and exposure to high temperatures could impact the final result.
To shift colors, try adding an acid or base to your dye bath.
Adding lemon or citric acid crystals in along with the fiber shifts the colors to a warmer tone-- like yellows, oranges, and pinks. Try this with cooler tones (we liked using Seneca Corn husks or Hopi Dye Sunflower seeds) for a beautiful result!
Adding iron to the dye bath for around 20 minutes after the fiber has been simmered can darken colors.
Always do trial runs and take detailed notes of what you did if you want repeatable results!
The Art and Science of Natural Dyes: Principles, Experiments, and Results by Joy Boutrup and Catharine Ellis (2018)
Dyer's Garden: From Plant to Pot Growing Dyes for Natural Fibers by Rita Buchahan (1995)
Wild Color: the Complete Guide to Making and Using Natural Dyes by Jenny Dean (1999)
Mordant: a substance used to prepare the material to absorb the most amount of dye possible, not all dye methods need mordanting, but most do
Scouring: cleaning the material to be dyed of any residue, oils, or dirt that may prevent a proper dye
Weight of Fabric (WoF): the dry weight of the material being dyed