Back to Mordants and Additives
Myrobalan, Ground
$3.30 – $25.50
Ground nuts of a tropical tree, Terminalia chebula.
Use on protein or cellulose fibres. Considered both a mordant and a dye, because of the high tannin content. Yields a light butter-yellow to beige or mushroom. Substantive, no mordant needed. Use at 15-20% WOF as a mordant on cellulose fibres. As a dye, use at 20-30% WOF for medium shades.
TO USE:soak 24 hrs in water to dissolve. Add more water if necessary and enter fibre. Bring to a high simmer for 1 hour. Let fibre cool overnight.
Light and washfastness: good.
Related products
Urea (Ammonium nitrate) – 250g
Price per 250g (8.82 oz) container.
CANADIAN SHIPPING ONLY. Limit of 1 per order. We stock Urea in larger packs, including 500g and 1kg sizes available for pickup at the shop only. PLEASE CONTACT US for availability and prices:
Due to the potential use of urea as an ingredient in explosives, we wish to handle the distribution of it carefully. Absolutely NO international orders!
We also cannot, by law, supply Urea to those wishing to use it as a nitrogen fertilizer for home garden or agricultural application.
Used mainly with synthetic dyes as an ASSIST, urea helps to open up fibres and allow for better dye penetration, and also keeps the fibre wetter for longer during direct application of dyes. This is a soluble form of urea that dissolves easily in hot water.
TO USE: Follow any of the dyebook directions for cold pad batch dyeing.
Dispose of spent dyebath in the usual way, most likely down the drain.
CAUTION: Should be used with good ventilation. Wear a mask when handling powders. Wear gloves.
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.
Aluminum acetate
July 21/21 - currently out of stock. Our supplier expects more to arrive towards late September/early October.
Used as a MORDANT in natural dyeing, which allows the plant pigments to bond with the fibres.
NOT THE SAME AS ALUM!! Aluminum acetate is used as a one-step mordant on cellulose (plant) fibres such as cotton, linen and well worth experimenting with on rayon fibres (including Tencel), bamboo, ramie, hemp and others. This is a more expensive but faster means to get natural dyes to stick without the more traditional alum/tannic acid premordanting method.
TO USE: weigh dry fibre and scour if needed (especially cotton). Calculate mordant required for 5% WOF (weight of fibre). Weigh and dissolve in hot water. Fill pot with sufficient water for the fibre to move, add mordant and stir. Enter fibre. Bring to 190-200°F and hold 1 hour. Stir yarns frequently. Cool overnight, then wash well. Dye immediately or dry for later.
Spent mordant solution may be safely disposed of down the drain (except for septic systems). It also may be diluted and poured on the ground, for instance on a gravel driveway or path.
CAUTION: wear a mask when handling powders. Wear gloves when handling powder or solutions, particularly when rinsing or handling wet yarns. Best done outdoors or with very good ventilation.
Alum (Aluminum sulphate)
Used as a MORDANT in natural dyeing, which allows the plant pigments to bond with the fibres.
This is Potassium aluminum sulphate, the preferred form of alum for use as a mordant. This IS NOT pickling alum and should not be consumed.
Used mainly on protein fibres such as wool, alpaca, silk. Usually used in combination with cream of tartar. Many natural dyers do a premordanting of the fibre with alum, while others add it directly to the dyebath (particularly with loose fibre such as fleece). Also sometimes used in combination with tannic acid to premordant cellulose fibres such as cotton.
TO USE: calculate mordant required for 8 to 15% WOF (weight of fibre) and 4 to 6% WOF cream of tartar. Weigh and dissolve in hot water. Fill pot with sufficient water for the fibre to move, add alum and cream of tartar and stir. Enter fibre. Bring to 180-200°F and hold 1 hour. Stir yarns frequently but fleece only occasionally. Cool overnight, then wash in soapy water and rinse thoroughly. Dye immediately or dry the yarns to dye later.
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 alum, particularly when rinsing or handling wet yarns as it is very drying to the skin. Best done outdoors or with very good ventilation.