Natural Dyes

Aluminum Acetate is sometimes preferred over Alum to mordant cellulose fibres and fabrics. It is the salt of aluminum, hydroxide and acetate. Some people find that natural dyes develop to a richer shade on cellulose when mordanted...

Buckthorn species are native to the Middle East, and Mediterranean. Also known as Persian berries since the warm yellow colour comes from the unripe berries. Use cream of tartar along with mordants. Dyeing: Use extract on mordanted fibre at 2-6% WOF...

Chamomile – Anthemis tinctoria is part of the daisy family and grows throughout North America, Europe and throughout the Himalaya region. It is often used in Turkish carpets for a warm, strong yellow and mixed with madder for tangerine colours...

This powder is an extract prepared from steeping the wood of the Acacia Catechu tree in hot water until a syrupy liquid immerges. This is dried and then ground into powder It is common to most parts of India, Burma, Indonesia and Peru. India cutch is by...

Walnut – (Eastern Black Walnut) Juglans nigra. This dyestuff is obtained from the bark of the tree and also from the green husks of the fruit. Domonique Cardon has called walnuts “great living laboratories of dye production.”...

Eastern Brazilwood - also known as Sappan wood, is found in the heartwood of trees belonging to the species Caesalpinia Sappan. Two well known sources are Pernambuco from Brazilian coast and Sappanwood found throughout East Asia. This wood is high in...

Ferrous sulfate (iron) is an optional mordant and is used as a colour changer. Because it is a mordant the addition of iron increases the light and washfastnes of dyes. It is most often used with cellulose fibers like cotton, linen, rayon and hemp...

Modern synthetic dyes can colour almost any material in a vast range of hues. So powerful and far reaching is this technology that it comes as a surprise to learn that only 150 years ago absolutely everything was dyed naturally. In this, our third...

Natural Indigo - is an extract prepared from cultivated plants of Indigofera Tinctoria. Indigo is the only source of blue in the plant world. Its ability to produce a wide range of blues has made it the most successful dye plant every known. Indigo grows...

Indigo: A World of Blue was shot on location at the Pitchi Reddy indigo farm in southern India. The work also features indigo use in Sindh, Pakistan; the Vientiane District of Loas; the island of Sumba, Indonesia; Yogyakarta, Indonesia, village Dhamadka,...

Lac Extract - is a red dye extract from the scale insect Laccifer lacca which is found throughout India, South East Asia, Nepal, Burma, Bhutan and South China. It is found both in the wild and is cultivated. The female lac insects invade host trees...

Logwood is a bushy, thorny tree grown in Mexico, Central and South America and parts of Africa. The purple dye is concentrated in the heartwood of the tree. Dyeing: For a medium to dark colour use extract at only 0.5-1 % WOF on mordanted fibre. Dye at...