Back to Mordants and Additives
NC-AlumAcet.jpg

Aluminum acetate

$7.92 – $34.20

May 26/22 – back in stock, finally!

Used as a MORDANT in natural dyeing, which allows the plant pigments to bond with the fibres.

NOT THE SAME AS ALUM!! Aluminum acetate is used as a one-step mordant on cellulose (plant) fibres such as cotton, linen and well worth experimenting with on rayon fibres (including Tencel), bamboo, ramie, hemp and others. This is a more expensive but faster means to get natural dyes to stick without the more traditional alum/tannic acid premordanting method.

TO USE: weigh dry fibre and scour if needed (especially cotton). Calculate mordant required for 5% WOF (weight of fibre). Weigh and dissolve in hot water. Fill pot with sufficient water for the fibre to move, add mordant and stir. Enter fibre. Bring to 190-200°F and hold 1 hour. Stir yarns frequently. Cool overnight, then wash well. Dye immediately or dry for later.

Spent mordant solution may be safely disposed of down the drain (except for septic systems). It also may be diluted and poured on the ground, for instance on a gravel driveway or path.

CAUTION: wear a mask when handling powders. Wear gloves when handling powder or solutions, particularly when rinsing or handling wet yarns. Best done outdoors or with very good ventilation.

Clear selection
SKU: N/A Category: Tags: ,

Related products

Placeholder
Titanium oxalate
Used as a MORDANT in natural dyeing, which allows the plant pigments to bond with the fibres. Titanium is used both on protein and cellulose fibres, giving vibrant orange and gold tones when dyes contain tannins. As a mordant, this is relatively new and not much information abounds in books or even online. It may be the closest thing now available to replace chrome, which nobody much uses any longer. TO USE: weigh the dry fibre or yarn. Calculate mordant required for 8 to 15% WOF (weight of fibre). Dissolve in hot water. Fill pot with sufficient water for the fibre to move, add titanium and stir. Enter fibre. Bring to 180-200 degrees F and hold 1 hour. Stir yarns frequently. Cool, remove fibre and wash well. Dye immediately or dry for later. Some interesting results are being produced doing Eco-Printing on fabric, using Titanium as a mordant. We cannot seem to find much information on safe disposal of a Titanium mordant bath. Nothing we've found indicates it to be particularly toxic or harmful to plumbing or sewer systems, but to be on the safe side it may be best to dispose of this outdoors on a gravel driveway or similar place. CAUTION: wear a mask when handling powders. Wear gloves when rinsing or handling wet yarns. BEST DONE OUTDOORS or with very good ventilation. Avoid breathing fumes.
$19.80 – $81.00 Select options
Pomegranate, Ground Rind
Pomegranate, Ground Rind
Powdered/ground rind from the rinds of pomegranate fruits, Punica granatum. NOTE: this is NOT EXTRACT. This is the kind to use if you want to try it as a natural mordant. We list this as a natural dye, but it is sometimes used as a mordant. Use on protein or cellulose fibres. Yields soft yellows to green-yellows or gold. Substantive but pre-mordanting recommended. Use at 15-20% WOF for medium shades. TO USE: soak 24 hours in hot water, stirring occasionally, then strain. Place liquid and fibre in dyepot and add more water if necessary. Bring to a high simmer for 1 hour. Let fibre cool in dye liquor for at least one more hour or overnight then wash and rinse. Light and washfastness: moderate to good.
$3.63 – $26.73 Select options
The Fibre Garden
Oxalic acid
Used occasionally as an ASSIST in natural dyeing. Oxalic acid will alter the shades of cochineal dyebaths, pushing them towards brilliant orange-red. Also used to help absorption of Tin when premordanting. Dissolve with the tin in hot water at 2% WOF then add to premordanting water, mix and enter fibre. TO USE: with cochineal baths, use at 2% WOF (weight of fibre). Dissolve first in hot water then mix into dyebath before entering fibre. Dispose of spent dyebath on the ground. CAUTION: POISON!!! Wear a mask when handling powders, absolutely wear gloves at every stage with Oxalic acid. MUST BE DONE OUTDOORS: fumes can be an extreme irritant.
$6.00 – $10.80 Select options
Mordants @ The Fibre Garden
Copper sulphate
Used as a MORDANT in natural dyeing, which allows the plant pigments to bond with the fibres. Copper tends to take the dyed yarn colours towards the brown and green ends of the spectrum. A natural dye that comes out bright yellow with an Alum mordant will look very different with copper. Used mainly on protein fibres such as wool, alpaca, silk. Although we love to use copper as a premordant, many dyers simply use it after dyeing to push the colours a different direction. To do this, add only 25% by weight of the usual premordanting amounts. Dissolve in hot water. Remove fibre from the dyebath, stir in the copper solution, re-enter the fibre and heat for another 15 minutes. Cool and rinse as usual. TO USE: weigh the dry fibre. Calculate mordant required for 2% WOF (weight of fibre) and white vinegar at 40ml per 100g fibre. Weigh copper and dissolve in hot water. Fill pot with sufficient water for the fibre to move, add copper, vinegar and stir. Enter fibre. Bring to 180-200 deg F and hold 1 hour. Stir yarns frequently. Cool overnight, then wash well. Dye fibre immediately or dry for later use. These directions that include vinegar are recommended by Jenny Dean in her various natural dye books. Older recipes tend to use 8% copper sulphate all by itself, as a premordant. Spent mordant solution is best disposed of on the ground, such as a gravel driveway. Keep well away from tree roots and anywhere that may drain to a pond or water feature, since copper sulphate is toxic to plants, fish and other aquatic life. CAUTION: wear a mask when handling powders. Wear gloves when using copper, particularly when rinsing or handling wet yarns as can be absorbed by the skin. BEST DONE OUTDOORS or with very good ventilation. Avoid breathing fumes.
$4.40 – $18.00 Select options