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Hemp Top – Soft Fruit
$7.75 – $31.67
100% Hemp fibre.
On hemp this colourway comes out a gorgeous deep wine red/burgundy shade.
PRODUCT of ITALY
Related products
Madder, Ground
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 (weight of fibre) 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 may produce browns rather than oranges or reds, so try to avoid bringing to a high simmer or boil. Ground madder is much easier to work with than the whole dried roots..
Light and washfastness: excellent.
Pulled Sari Silk – Passion
100% Silk fibre
An excellent true bright-red that leans just slightly towards scarlet. Fibre staple length is 1 to 1.5 inches.
Use for blending/carding, spinning, felting, paper-making and other crafting projects.
PRODUCT of INDIA
Corriedale Chili Pepper
Vibrant chili-pepper or tomato, leaning either towards scarlet or red, depending on what you combine it with. Dyed 30 micron Corriedale wool top from Ashford of New Zealand.
$5.50 – $42.45 $4.13 – $31.84
Cochineal, Whole
Whole dried insects.
A scale insect native to Mexico/Central America that feeds exclusively on prickly-pear cactus. Cochineal is a very common source of red food colour with a long historical use. No mordant is required although they will extend the colour range in interesting ways. Use at 3-10% WOF for medium, 10-20% WOF for strong shades. Cochineal is expensive but very generous and can easily give 8 or more successive dips from the same dyebath. Have plenty of fibre ready and waiting!
TO USE: grind finely in a coffee grinder (Cochineal is non-toxic but may stain your next pot of coffee). Soak overnight in cold water with 5% Cream of Tartar to WOF. Simmer 15 minutes, cool and strain -- we find a sieve lined with moist paper towel does the trick. Return to pot, add more water if necessary then enter the fibre and simmer for 35 to 45 minutes.
Light/washfastness: excellent