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Cutch, Ground Extract
$4.40 – $18.00
Ground resin extract from Acacia catechu, sometimes called Catechu.
Use on protein or cellulose fibres. A source of lovely rich browns and rusts. Substantive but pre-mordanting recommended. Use at 20-50% WOF for medium shades.
TO USE: soak 24 hours in water to dissolve, stirring occasionally. Place extract 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.
Light and washfastness: excellent
Related products
Logwood, Chips
Dried and cured chips from a tropical tree, Haematoxylum campechianum.
Use on protein or cellulose fibres. Pre-mordanting essential. Produces dramatic pink, blue, maroon and purple to black shades. Use at 20-50% WOF for medium shades.
TO USE: place chips in a stocking and soak overnight in cold water. Bring to a simmer for 1 hour, cool and remove stocking. Enter premordanted fibre and simmer for 1 hour. Bath may be used for successive dips, and by the 3rd or 4th dip the colours being yielded change to golds, greens or browns.
Light and washfastness: average. Keep dyed fibres away from bright light.
NEW: Logwood Extract: this has already been soaked out then reduced down to a powder. It's expensive but very strong and super convenient. Simply weigh out the extract at around 10% weight of fibre for medium shades, or adjust for darker or lighter. Dissolve in a measuring cup with hot (but not boiling) water, add to your dyepot with water, mix well, add your fibre and simmer for an hour.
Sumac Powder
Ground, dried leaves of a small tree native to the Mediterranean, Rhus coriaria. This has been used for tanning leather for centuries, producing a yellowish-green colour. It was once widely used in the woolen trade to produce shades of brown through tan to yellow-brown and olive and is sometimes called Tanner's Sumac.
Used mainly on protein fibres but worth experimenting with on cotton and other plant fibres. We can't find much information, but suggesting trying this at 20-30% WOF for medium shades, as a starting point..
TO USE: soak in warm water overnight. Simmer in liquid 30-60 minutes at 170-190°F. Cool, strain, add more water if necessary then simmer premordanted fibre for 30-60 minutes at 170-190°F. Lower temperatures (below 160°F) may help the yellow pigments to shine through, and keep down the brown tones.
Light and washfastness: probably good to excellent with a mordant.
Weld, Dried Chopped
Dried and chopped tops from Reseda luteola.
Use on protein or cellulose fibres. An ancient source of excellent bright yellows. Pre-mordanting recommended. Alum/c.o.t. mordant gives good results. Use at 30-50% WOF for medium shades.
TO USE: soak in water overnight, then simmer mixture at 160-175°F for 1 hour. Cool and strain. Add more water if needed and enter pre-mordanted fibre. Hold at a 160-175°F for one hour. The brightest yellows develop at these cool temperatures.
Light & washfastness: very good.
Logwood, Extract
Dried and cured chips from a tropical tree, Haematoxylum campechianum.
Use on protein or cellulose fibres. Pre-mordanting essential. Produces dramatic pink, blue, maroon and purple to black shades. Use at 20-50% WOF for medium shades.
TO USE: place chips in a stocking and soak overnight in cold water. Bring to a simmer for 1 hour, cool and remove stocking. Enter premordanted fibre and simmer for 1 hour. Bath may be used for successive dips, and by the 3rd or 4th dip the colours being yielded change to golds, greens or browns.
Light and washfastness: average. Keep dyed fibres away from bright light.
NEW: Logwood Extract: this has already been soaked out then reduced down to a powder. It's expensive but very strong and super convenient. Simply weigh out the extract at around 10% weight of fibre for medium shades, or adjust for darker or lighter. Dissolve in a measuring cup with hot (but not boiling) water, add to your dyepot with water, mix well, add your fibre and simmer for an hour.