Hi Cris. Iron and alum mordants are the safest of all the metallic mordants, but some people still prefer not to use them. You certainly don’t want to be ingesting them or breathing in the fumes, and I also advise against touching them even though they aren’t particularly bio-available through the skin. For me, iron mordant feels safe to use but I understand that some people want to be overcautious and stick with food safe ingredients.
How colorfast is the cotton with the protein binder? Can you wash it normally in the washing machine, or should it be hand washed? I am guessing the iron mordant is much more colorfast. Can it be washed in the washing machine?
Yes, you can wash both on a gentle cycle with a mild detergent, then dry in the shade. They will eventually fade, but I like to think of that as an opportunity to do more eco-printing!
I wouldn’t bother putting a binder on silk because it is already a protein rich fibre. The mordants have a similar effect as on cotton, but go easy with it as too much iron can damage silk.
How would you use a binder and an iron mordant together with fabric? Would you soak the fabric in one first and then the other or combine the two in a container and soak the fabric in that?
I’d do the protein binder first, let it dry and set, and then do a quick soak in iron. You’ll also see in the week 3 fabric lesson a different way of combining the 2…
Hi Louise, I got really pale results, even tought i dip the fabric in iron mordant with water before. Maybe i shouldn’t mix the iron mordant with water or I just put less water to it? I also posted photoes to isodye club facebook. Thanks a lot. Klara
Hi Klara, I just replied on FB. Looking at your photos, I suspect the leaves near you just don’t have many tannins yet. Maybe try to find some evergreen leaves to use.
Hi Louise, I was very happy with my prints from my iron mordant bundles. But the protein binder results are very pale. I removed all the bundles from the dye bath after boiling for an hour and a half. Would the results have been better if I had soaked them overnight? Louise J
Hi, don’t be too surprised that the binder results are pale – it is only good for certain types of natural dyes, and metal mordants will give stronger results. But there is a lesson in week 3 that will help you get better results by combining it with iron. You can also dip your leaves in mordant, then put them on the binder fabric – such a good method for vivid, crisp prints.
thank you for these amazing lessons and the videos are so clear and helpful! i am off to test out my pre mordanted fabrics form the last video. I have used a greek yoghurt I forgot I had in my fridge, so it was a perfect use for it. My iron mordant, I have been shaking every couple of days and interestingly, because I dried the fabric on a heated towel rail, it has developed some interesting stripes already 🙂 I will share the results in the Facebook group later today. thankyou so much! Shari
Hi Shari, yes iron will do interesting things when exposed to heat, which is why I recommend drying it in the shade. But those stripes could be a really interesting design feature. I really believe there are no mistakes with eco-printing, just different possible results.
Yes, I usually put leaves on dry fabric, through I know many eco-printers use wet fabric. You can try both and see what you prefer! With an iron mordant I like the fabric to be dry when I handle it so I don’t have to wear gloves.
Hi Louise, I joined you yesterday and have a lot of catch up to do! Thank you for this great course! This is fabulous and I like your teachings! With the eco-printed fabrics, do you rinse them in cold or hot water and/or washing soda after the dying process?
I did the dye today with good results! I used cow milk for the binder, used red rose petals , fern, green tea and turmeric. I’ve got different results to each sample. It was very fun to do! I posted photos on Instagram! Gratitude!
It’s great to see the variations, because I much prefer the lovely, bright colors! Although, I will like to play a bit with the mordant as well! Do you know if alum changes the colors dark as the iron mordant does?
Alum is actually a brightener, so you can expect to get lots of yellows and other bright colours when using it. I sometimes like to combine alum and iron mordants, to get the brightness of the alum with the detailed prints of the iron. Here’s some examples.
Thank you for this beautiful course. About the iron mordant… If I have dipped my cotton in an iron mordant bath and hang it out to dry. Should the cotton then be dry when I put my leaves on or should I wet it in water or a new iron bath before placing the leaves?
Personally I like to leave it dry while I place leaves and wrap. It will get saturated as soon as it is put in the boiling water anyway. And if it is dry, it is fine to handle with bare hands, whereas if it is wet with mordant I always recommend wearing gloves to be overly cautious, which makes it a little tricky to wrap up.
28 Comments
Hi Louise,
I am wondering what type of dye bath you used for these fabric examples?
Thank you!
Plain water! No dye baths this week, because I wanted to show the results purely from the leaves
Hi Louise
What are the safety reasons for not to use metal mordants?
Cris
Hi Cris. Iron and alum mordants are the safest of all the metallic mordants, but some people still prefer not to use them. You certainly don’t want to be ingesting them or breathing in the fumes, and I also advise against touching them even though they aren’t particularly bio-available through the skin. For me, iron mordant feels safe to use but I understand that some people want to be overcautious and stick with food safe ingredients.
How colorfast is the cotton with the protein binder? Can you wash it normally in the washing machine, or should it be hand washed? I am guessing the iron mordant is much more colorfast. Can it be washed in the washing machine?
Yes, you can wash both on a gentle cycle with a mild detergent, then dry in the shade. They will eventually fade, but I like to think of that as an opportunity to do more eco-printing!
What about eco-dying on silk? Do mordants and binders have similar effect as cotton?
I wouldn’t bother putting a binder on silk because it is already a protein rich fibre. The mordants have a similar effect as on cotton, but go easy with it as too much iron can damage silk.
Great to see such clear instructions and the straight forward comparisons of the three treatments. Thank you.
My pleasure. Playing with variables is such an important part of learning about natural dyeing.
How would you use a binder and an iron mordant together with fabric? Would you soak the fabric in one first and then the other or combine the two in a container and soak the fabric in that?
I’d do the protein binder first, let it dry and set, and then do a quick soak in iron. You’ll also see in the week 3 fabric lesson a different way of combining the 2…
Hi Louise,
I got really pale results, even tought i dip the fabric in iron mordant with water before. Maybe i shouldn’t mix the iron mordant with water or I just put less water to it? I also posted photoes to isodye club facebook. Thanks a lot. Klara
Hi Klara, I just replied on FB. Looking at your photos, I suspect the leaves near you just don’t have many tannins yet. Maybe try to find some evergreen leaves to use.
Hi Louise,
I was very happy with my prints from my iron mordant bundles. But the protein binder results are very pale. I removed all the bundles from the dye bath after boiling for an hour and a half. Would the results have been better if I had soaked them overnight?
Louise J
Hi, don’t be too surprised that the binder results are pale – it is only good for certain types of natural dyes, and metal mordants will give stronger results. But there is a lesson in week 3 that will help you get better results by combining it with iron. You can also dip your leaves in mordant, then put them on the binder fabric – such a good method for vivid, crisp prints.
Hi Louise,
thank you for these amazing lessons and the videos are so clear and helpful! i am off to test out my pre mordanted fabrics form the last video. I have used a greek yoghurt I forgot I had in my fridge, so it was a perfect use for it. My iron mordant, I have been shaking every couple of days and interestingly, because I dried the fabric on a heated towel rail, it has developed some interesting stripes already 🙂 I will share the results in the Facebook group later today.
thankyou so much!
Shari
Hi Shari, yes iron will do interesting things when exposed to heat, which is why I recommend drying it in the shade. But those stripes could be a really interesting design feature. I really believe there are no mistakes with eco-printing, just different possible results.
I am really enjoying this course thank you so much for offering it at this time. Do you apply the leaves to damp fabric or is it dry? It looks dry.
Yes, I usually put leaves on dry fabric, through I know many eco-printers use wet fabric. You can try both and see what you prefer! With an iron mordant I like the fabric to be dry when I handle it so I don’t have to wear gloves.
Hi Louise,
I joined you yesterday and have a lot of catch up to do! Thank you for this great course! This is fabulous and I like your teachings!
With the eco-printed fabrics, do you rinse them in cold or hot water and/or washing soda after the dying process?
So glad you are enjoying it! I rinse them in plain, cold water.
I did the dye today with good results! I used cow milk for the binder, used red rose petals , fern, green tea and turmeric. I’ve got different results to each sample. It was very fun to do! I posted photos on Instagram! Gratitude!
Beautiful colours! And I love your art journalling too, they actually look a bit like eco-prints somehow
It’s great to see the variations, because I much prefer the lovely, bright colors! Although, I will like to play a bit with the mordant as well! Do you know if alum changes the colors dark as the iron mordant does?
Alum is actually a brightener, so you can expect to get lots of yellows and other bright colours when using it. I sometimes like to combine alum and iron mordants, to get the brightness of the alum with the detailed prints of the iron. Here’s some examples.
Dear Louise.
Thank you for this beautiful course. About the iron mordant… If I have dipped my cotton in an iron mordant bath and hang it out to dry. Should the cotton then be dry when I put my leaves on or should I wet it in water or a new iron bath before placing the leaves?
Trine
Personally I like to leave it dry while I place leaves and wrap. It will get saturated as soon as it is put in the boiling water anyway. And if it is dry, it is fine to handle with bare hands, whereas if it is wet with mordant I always recommend wearing gloves to be overly cautious, which makes it a little tricky to wrap up.