A soluble natural dye derived from fermented natural indigo and alkanet. This dye in strong solutions gives a good blue, and at lower concentrations provides a fine teal green colour. Please note that the dyes will only work on mordanted protein fibre such as wool and silk and are not effective on cellulose fibre such as cotton and viscose. Alum is required as the mordant for this dye.
Our photograph of dyed wool yarn illustrates a variation of the colour that can be achieved.
The 25g sachet will dye up to 250g of dry material. Instructions for dyeing are below and included with the dye packet.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR MORDANTING
- Ensure that the material is properly scoured and then wetted for around 2 hours before mordanting. Squeeze to remove the excess liquid.
- Use Alum mordant at 10% by weight of goods and dissolve it in some hot water. Place this solution to one side.
- For each 100g of dry material use around two litres (i.e. about 20 times the weight of material) of water and add a small quantity of citric or acetic acid (vinegar) to the water to achieve a pH level of 4.
- Heat the pan to 60°C and add the alum solution and stir well. Then add the 100g wetted material to the mordant pan and stir slowly every 5-10 minutes for up to an hour.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR DYEING
- To develop the colour for 100g material use 10g of Turquoise Blue Natural Dye or Forest Green Natural Dye dissolved in a small amount of hot water. Pass the solution through a coffee filter or fine sieve to remove any undissolved dye and place solution to one side.
- Use two litres (i.e. about 20 times of dyeing material) of water and, importantly, add 20gm of Citric Acid or 50ml of Vinegar to give around 3pH.
- Heat the liquid to 60°C and add the solution of dissolved dye. Add the 100g of mordanted material (with the alum mordant solution squeezed out) turning the material carefully whilst the pan is taken to boiling. Keep the temperature at 100°C for a further 45 minutes without agitating the material and then switch off.
- Wash the material to remove unfixed dye particles from the material and allowed to dry.
