Mordant Recipes

“It’s a slow process but quitting won’t speed it up”

When I started my natural dye hīkoi journey, one thing I discovered was how confusing all the different mordant recipes were. Everyone has their own way of doing it and I rarely came across two recipes the same. While it is important for you to experiment and find one that works for you to get the outcome you wish on your fabric. I have included below some that I use regularly and work for myself and my style of dyeing.

Cellulose Recipe:

Oak gall extract - 1tsp per 100g of Fibre

Aluminum Potassium Sulfate - 20% WOF

Soda Ash - 6% WOF

Make a paste with the required amount of oak gall extract using hot water, once a smooth paste is formed add to a pot of hot water which has enough water in to submerge your fabric. Bring the extract to a simmer and hold at a simmer for 1 hr. When the water solution has cooled to a warm temperature, place the wetted fabric into the pot and leave to soak for 8hrs. Stirring occasionally to make sure you get an even mordant. Remove from the solution and rinse well in cool water.

Measure out the Aluminum Potassium Sulfate in a jar and add enough boiling water for the Aluminum to dissolve. Add to your pot of water (which is big enough for your fabric). In the same jar add your required amount of Soda Ash, dissolve in boiling water and add to your pot. Stir well, add your fabric making sure there is enough water for it to move freely and bring to a simmer then turn off the heat and leave to soak for 8hrs. Stirring occasionally. Remove the Aluminum solution, rinse in cool water and wash in pH-neutral soap.

Protein Recipe:

Potassium Aluminum Sulfate - 8% WOF

Cream of Tarter - 7%

Measure out the Alum into the heatproof jar and add enough boiling water for it to dissolve when stirred, if you have large granules of Alum this can take a while. Add this to your dye pot with enough warm water for your fibres to move freely. Add your pre-wetted to your pot and bring to a simmer for 1 hr.

Sir the fibres regularly to make sure you get even coverage. Tease out any air bubbles and make sure the fabric is submerged and leave to cool and soak overnight or for up to 24hrs. Remove for the mordant solution, rinse in cool water and wash in pH-neutral soap.

For further reading and recipes I recommend reading:

https://naturaldyes.ca/how-to-mordant-cellulose

https://naturaldyes.ca/how-to-mordant-protein

https://rebeccadesnos.com/blogs/journal/pretreating-fabric-in-soya-soy-milk-faqs

https://botanicalcolors.com/how-to-mordant/