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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
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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.
Dyer’s Chamomile
Dried flower heads of Anthemis tinctoria, a perennial garden flower often called Golden Marquerite. This plant is NOT the same as the Chamomile used for tea.
Use on protein fibres. With an Alum/c.o.t. mordant this gives a strong yellow. Use at 50-100% WOF for medium to strong shades. Mixed with or dyed under/over Madder this will produce tangerine shades. A traditional dyeplant widely used in Turkish carpets. If you happen to grow the plant simply pick the flowerheads and use fresh, no need to dry them.
TO USE: soak in hot water overnight. Simmer 30-60 minutes in soaking liquid. Cool, strain then simmer premordanted fibre for 30-60 minutes.
Light and washfastness: good to excellent with a mordant.
Madder, Whole
Dried roots of Rubia tinctoria, available ground or whole.
Use on protein or cellulose fibres. Pre-mordanting recommended. A classic dye, giving dramatic reds, brick-reds to orange and coral. Use at 50-100% WOF for medium shades.
TO USE: simmer in water below 185°F for 30 minutes. Cool overnight, then repeat simmer and strain. Add more water and enter pre-mordanted fibre. Hold below 158°F for one hour. Higher temperatures produce browns. Whole madder is best chopped up first in an old blender, or soaked overnight then ground as best you can in the blender with the soaking liquid. Rita Buchanan once described the process as attempting to break pencils with your bare hands. Despite this, many dyers claim the best colours come from the dried, whole roots.
Light and washfastness: excellent.
Marigold, Dried Flowers
Ground, dried flower heads from common Marigolds, Tagetes spp.
Used on protein or cellulose fibres, giving yellow, orange or green-yellow depending on mordant. Use at 20-30% WOF for medium shades. Makes a good base for producing greens with an overdip of Indigo.
TO USE: soak in warm water overnight. Simmer in liquid 30-60 minutes at 155-160°F. Cool, strain, add more water if necessary then simmer premordanted fibre for 30-60 minutes at 155-160°F.
Light and washfastness: moderate to good with a mordant.