Hi Louise! Which is the difference between aluminum potassium sulfate and aluminum acetate? I know aluminum potassium is for animal-based fabric and aluminum acetate for celullose-based fabric but I can’t find aluminum acetate in my country just de rock of alum potassium.
Hi Karla, yes aluminium acetate is better for cellulose fabric, but aluminum potassium sulfate can be combined with soda ash or with sodium acetate to create aluminum acetate. There are some recipes for this in the excellent book ‘The art and science of natural dyes’, or you might be able to find recipes online too. Or make your own following the instructions in this course.
You can create a dye bath with any dyestuff you like. Onion skins are a good one to start with because they are easy to collect and produce strong colour. But you can also research which dyeplants are abundant in your local area. I like to use a lot of eucalyptus bark and coreopsis flowers because they are easy to find here.
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Hi Louise! Which is the difference between aluminum potassium sulfate and aluminum acetate? I know aluminum potassium is for animal-based fabric and aluminum acetate for celullose-based fabric but I can’t find aluminum acetate in my country just de rock of alum potassium.
Hi Karla, yes aluminium acetate is better for cellulose fabric, but aluminum potassium sulfate can be combined with soda ash or with sodium acetate to create aluminum acetate. There are some recipes for this in the excellent book ‘The art and science of natural dyes’, or you might be able to find recipes online too. Or make your own following the instructions in this course.
what do you put in a dye bath? I have only steamed in pure water ….
You can create a dye bath with any dyestuff you like. Onion skins are a good one to start with because they are easy to collect and produce strong colour. But you can also research which dyeplants are abundant in your local area. I like to use a lot of eucalyptus bark and coreopsis flowers because they are easy to find here.