Dyeing fabric and Making fabric colorfast

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[1]

It sounds like what you're

by KharminJ in reply to KharminJ [1] [original] [2] on Wed, 07/27/2011 - 20:39

It sounds like what you're looking for info on are "mordants" - salts, vinegar, alum and other substances that have been used in various ways and combinations for thousands of years to help 'fix' dyes. There is, of course, a Wikipedia entry (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mordant [3]) but it gets very technical very quickly, and doesn't give much practical "what do I use and how do I do it?" information.

The website for Earthues.com A Natural Dyes Company (located in Seattle) has an informative article about them, http://www.earthues.com/aboutmordants.html [4], and they seem very open to beginner's questions.

Textiles in Depth (http://www.textilesindepth.com/index.php... [5]) has a fairly informative but academic article, and a ton of ads (that you don't have to visit, of course).

If your new stash isn't specifically "ready to dye", there may be coatings or fillers that could interfere with the intensity or permanence of any dye. Also, the type of dyes you use will affect your results. Dharma Trading, as Kate suggested, are very knowledgeable and helpful.

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