Titanium oxalate is a specialist mordant used in natural dyeing and botanical printing to influence the colours obtained from plant-based dyes. It is particularly interesting for its ability to bring out orange tones from tannins, such as those found in gall nuts, and can produce varied and sometimes unexpected shades with other natural colourants.
Titanium has a lesser-known place in the history of textile dyeing, where titanium-based mordants were used to achieve bright yellows from dyes such as weld. Today, titanium oxalate offers natural dyers an opportunity to explore different colour possibilities and discover how changing the mordant can influence the final result.
Suitable for use with wool and silk, titanium oxalate can also be used as an alternative to aluminium acetate when mordanting cellulose fibres such as cotton and linen. In botanical printing, it can be used alongside alum to modify the colours obtained from leaves and other plant materials.
The results will vary according to the fibre, dye source, mordanting method and other conditions, making small-scale trials a useful way to explore its effects.
Use 10-15% to weight of dried materials.
Important Natural Dyeing Tips - Mordants
Most natural fibres can be dyed using natural dyes. Some natural dyes can be used without a mordant, while others benefit from mordanting to improve colourfastness and help achieve particular shades.
Wool and silk are commonly mordanted with alum, while cellulose fibres such as cotton and linen should be mordanted using aluminium lactate. Another method is to prepare cellulose fibres with a tannin solution followed by an alum mordant. This age-old technique can sometimes affect the final colour of the natural dye through the colour absorbed during the tannin soak – a side effect that may be desirable.
Mordants are also used to modify colours using an after-treatment of iron, copper or tin mordant; these will each shift the original natural dye colour.
Whether you’re dyeing wool, silk, cotton or linen, natural dyes offer a wonderfully varied range of colours and effects, and many factors can affect the results. You can find answers to the following questions in our Blog post A Practical Guide to Natural Dyeing – How to Get the Best from Natural Dyes:
- Why do I need a mordant and how do mordants work?
- What is the method for mordanting protein fibres?
- What is the method for mordanting cellulose fibres?
- How much natural dye should I use?
- What colours will I get from my natural dyes?
- How do I modify or shift colours from natural dyes?
