How to prepare the fabric for Natural dyeing

Natural dyeing is an ancient craft. In China, dyeing with plants, barks, and insects has been traced back more than 5,000 years. The essential process of dyeing changed little over time. Typically, the dye material is put in a pot of water and heated to extract the dye compounds into a solution with the water. Then the textiles to be dyed are added to the pot and held at heat until the desired color is achieved.

But an essential part of natural dyeing is to prepare fabric to absorb color the best.

Many natural dyes require the use of substances called mordants to bind the dye to the textile fibers. Mordants (from the Latin verb ‘mordere’, meaning ‘to bite’) are metal salts that can form a stable molecular coordination complex with both natural dyes and natural fibers. Historically, the most common mordants were alum (potassium aluminum sulfate—a metal salt of aluminum) and iron (ferrous sulfate).

So the first step in preparing your fabric to dye will be to wash it with Synthrapol detergent or any other detergent to get rid of dirt, oil, or silkworm gum if you are using silk.

After that, dilute some Aluminum sulfate (I use food-grade one) two tablespoons for half a gallon of water. It’s easier to dissolve it in warm water. Then add enough water so that your fabric will be completely covered and let it simmer for an hour.

Never let your water boil!

For optimal results let your fabric “rest “for a day and the next day you can proceed to the next step. Natural dyeing takes a longer time, but the results are amazing! Natural tannins allow the color to come out to its full potential and at the same time bind it to the fabric.

Simmer the wet fabric in a solution of tannin of your choice for about an hour. When making the solution uses a separate glass jar and place tea or bark adding hot water. Let it sit for a while. Then add the concentrated solution, pouring it through the cheesecloth or fine mesh to the water in the pot. Again, your fabric should be covered completely.

The colors you can get from Nature are amazing! Golden colors can be achieved with Marygold flowers, onion skin, and turmeric, beautiful purple with logwood and red cabbage, red colors with Alizarin and cochineal (small Mexican bugs), and my favorite pink color from Madder root!

I would recommend starting a diary where you can note the process and how each natural dye reacts with different fabrics.