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Marigold, Dried Flowers
$3.63 – $13.50
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.
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Madder, Ground
Dried roots of Rubia tinctoria, ground but not into fine dust. We have been once again been able to source true Madder, not Indian Madder.
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.
Black Oak Bark, Ground
Ground inner bark of Quercus velutina, sometimes known as Quercitron.
Use on protein or cellulose fibres. A well-respected source of strong yellows. Pre-mordanting recommended. Alum/c.o.t. mordant gives excellent results. Use at 10-20% WOF for medium shades.
TO USE: simmer in water at 160-175°F for 1 hour. Cool overnight and strain. Add more water if necessary and enter pre-mordanted fibre. Hold at a 160-175°F for one hour. The brightest yellows develop at these cool temperatures.
Light and washfastness: excellent with a mordant.
Cutch, Ground Extract
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
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.