Back to Mordants and Additives
NC-IronSulph.jpg

Iron sulphate

$2.20 – $7.20

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

Iron darkens or “saddens” colours. It takes only a tiny amount to do this, and one must be careful with iron: too much will harshen or damage fibres. If you use iron with any regularity, consider having a dedicated pot for this purpose, as it sticks to pot surfaces and will affect the colour of future dyebaths. A chipped enamal pot is perfect.

Used mainly on protein fibres such as wool, alpaca, silk. Although it can be used as a premordant, most natural dyers use iron to alter the colour at the end of the dyeing process. If you prefer to premordant, follow the usual steps using iron at 6% WOF.

TO USE: Weigh fibre before wetting. Dye in the bath of your choice, with or without an alum premordant. Calculate iron mordant required for 2% WOF (weight of fibre). Dissolve iron in hot water. Remove fibre from warm dyepot, stir in dissolved iron and re-enter fibre. Simmer for 5 minutes, cool then wash and rinse well.

Spent mordant solution may be safely disposed of by pouring in the garden. Iron sulphate is a common soil amendment in agriculture and horticulture.

CAUTION: wear a mask when handling powders. Wear gloves when using iron, as it stains skin easily. BEST DONE OUTDOORS or with very good ventilation. Avoid breathing fumes.

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

Related products

Soda ash
Soda ash
Used with fibre reactive dyes as a colour FIXATIVE. Soda ash raises the pH and allows the dye to bond with the fibre. Generally used only with cellulose (plant) fibres such as cotton or flax. Also known as washing soda or sal soda, though this is a more pure form that the washing soda sold in supermarkets. Also sometimes used in natural dyeing to create more alkaline conditions, and thus altering the colour with certain plants. Extensively used for indigo vat dyeing. TO USE: Follow dye manufacturer’s directions for amounts and timing. Dispose of spent dyebath in the usual way, most likely down the drain. CAUTION: Wear a mask when handling powders. Wear gloves, can be a skin irritant.
$4.40 – $8.00 Select options
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
Calcium carbonate (Chalk)
Calcium carbonate (Chalk)
Used as a DYE ASSIST or MODIFIER in natural dyeing. Chalk can help to boost the colour uptake on certain dyes, including Madder, Munjeet and Weld, enabling more pigment to bond with the fibres by creating less acidic conditions. TO USE: calculate amount required for .5% WOF (weight of fibre), which means half a percent. Approximately 1 teaspoon per pound of fibre. Weigh and dissolve in hot water. Add to dyebath before entering fibre. For silk, stir into dyebath after dyeing is complete and taken off the heat, then soak fibre overnight. Dye solutions containing chalk may be safely disposed of down the drain or just poured outside in the garden. CAUTION: wear a mask when handling powders.
$2.80 – $6.30 Select options
Tannin Blend
Tannin Blend
This is a blend of NATURALLY-SOURCED Tannin, usually from Quebracho and Sumac, possibly others. It will leave your plant fibres or fabrics a soft red-brown base colour before using other dyes. Used mainly on as a MORDANT on cellulose fibres such as cotton, usually in combination with Alum. TO USE: weigh dry fibre. Calculate mordant required at 15 to 20%% WOF (weight of fibre) each of Tannic Acid and Alum. Weigh mordants and dissolve in hot water in separate plastic or non-reactive containers. Add wetted fibre to Alum solution and soak for 12 to 24 hours. Rinse and place in Tannic Acid solution for 12 to 24 hours. Rinse again and place back in Alum solution for 12 to 24 hours. Wash and rinse well, then dye or dry for later use. Spent mordant solution may be safely disposed of down the drain (except for septic systems). It also may be poured around garden plants that prefer acidic soil conditions. CAUTION: wear a mask when handling powders. Wear gloves when using tannins, particularly when rinsing or handling wet yarns as they can cause skin irritation and staining.
$5.83 – $23.85 Select options