Aurora Silk's liquid extracts make it easier than ever to dye your own clothes, fibre, and yarn with natural dyes. It's so easy to use, and the colours are so beautiful, it's like magic!
Step 1: Soak the fabric (fibre or yarn) in mordant
Soak the fabric (fibre or yarn) for about 12 hours in a solution of warm water
and mordant. Hot water from the tap is fine.
Use 25% alum or 3% tin (Stannous Chloride) by weight of fabric. So, if you are dyeing 1 lb of fabric (fibre or yarn), use 4 oz of alum or 1/2 oz of tin. You can find alum and cream of tartar in your baking section at the supermarket (alum is used for pickling , cream of tartar for baking), or on our mordants page.
Always wear rubber gloves when handling your fabric (fibre or yarn) during mordanting, so nothing is absorbed through your skin. Make sure kids and pets don't accidently drink the solution (it's pretty nasty so normally they wouldn't).
Step 2: Dry the fabric (fibre or yarn)
Thoroughly dry the fabric (fibre or yarn) so the paint dye won't run when you
apply it. For the cleanest lines, apply gutta-resist (this is a starch resist
that is available at art supply stores).
Step 3: Mix paint for different colours, if desired
These
paint dyes can be combined with each other or with other substances to produce
different colours.
Colour |
Paint Dye to Use |
Fastness to Washing |
Fastness to Light |
Yellow |
Yellow (fustic) |
Good |
Excellent |
Moss green shadings |
Yellow (fustic) mixed with a tiny amount of iron (ferrous sulphate) in a separate container. Or, brush a wash of iron desolved in water over the yellow. |
Excellent |
Excellent |
Bright greens |
Combine yellow (fustic) with indigo crystals (blue). Be sure to mix in a separate container and make only as much as you will need. Indigo needs to be used within an hour or it will oxidize and no longer dye. See the directions for Indigo Crystals. |
||
Rose |
Rose (chochineal) |
Good |
Excellent |
Plum shadings |
Rose (chochineal) mixed with a tiny amount of iron (ferrous sulphate) in a separate container. Or, brush a wash of iron desolved in water over the rose. |
Excellent |
Excellent |
Orange-Rose |
Rose (chochineal) mixed with an acid such as citric acid crystals or vinegar. |
||
Violet-Rose |
Rose (chochineal) mixed with a clear non-sudzing household ammonia. |
||
Orange |
Yellow and rose. Mix the dyes together in a separate container, or layer them by painting on one colour and then the other. |
||
Experiment! |
Dyes can be mixed or layered. For lighter shades dilute with distilled or filtered water. Just remember, if you combine the dyes with the Indigo crystals, make sure you use it within an hour or the dye will oxidize and no longer work. |
|
Step 4: Paint!
Shake or stir the bottle of dye before using. Brush
the dye directly on your fabric, as with any watercolour paint. Use a large
brush to cover large areas and fine brushes for details. The dye is concentrated
enough that one jar will paint many yards of silk. Cotton and hemp will only
take soft colours and will use much more dye.
Stencilling is another technique - cut stencils from heavy waxed paper or thin plastic sheets and "stipple" the dye through the open spaces with a stiff thick brush.
To tie dye, after mordanting, fold or squish or stitch up the fabric and either paint on the dye in places or fill a shallow pan with dye and lay in the fabric.
Step 5: Dry
When you are done, dry your painted fabric in the shade.
Step 6: Rinse
If you plan to make a garment to wear you should wash the excess dye out of
the fabric first. If you are making wall-art, no rinsing is necessary.
Another wonderful thing about these dyes is that you can use them as natural watercolour paints. Just brush a solution of water mixed with alum mordant on the paper. Let it dry if you want clean lines. Then paint!
The mordant solution is the same - 25% by weight of paper, with just enough water to dissolve the alum (give it a half hour to dissolve if it isn't powdered). You may need to brush it on and dry it several times to get enough alum on the paper if it's thick, or just once if the paper is thin.
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