-Protien fibers have an affinity to acidic conditions, and cellulose to alkaline. A good thing to keep in mind if you want to avoid ruining the fiber...
-Make sure fiber, be it yarn or fabric, is clean before you start. Scouring can be done by machine or on the stove in hot (60 C) water and � tsp soda ash and � tsp synthrapol per lb (445 g) of fabric.
-When dyeing yarn, wrap it into a large skein-around a chair back or someone's arms, if they are willing to let you-and tie loosely but securely in at least three places. Tying too tightly could create a resist. Too loose and it will tangle-you so don't want this to happen!
-Always make sure to cool your dye bath to lukewarm before adding wool to keep it from felting. Remember, quick temperature changes and a little agitation is all it takes for wool to felt.
-Intensity of colour is relative to the amount of plant material used. If you want a deeper colour, add more plants, not more mordant.
-If you use bark, branches, roots or shells, cut them into small pieces and soak them over night before dying to soften. Other plant materials can be soaked as well.
-Just as with spices, dried material seems to be more potent than the fresh plants, especially in the case of flowers. If you don't think you have enough of a plant material, you may consider drying it first. It will need to soak awhile though.
-If you don't have a heat source, it is possible to dye without one, you just have to leave the fiber in the dye bath longer-usually a few days to a week. Try to keep the temperature up to 40 or 50 c by using sun power. (Though you do still need heat for dye extraction)
-wetting out wool can take a few hours off soaking, but you want fiber thoroughly to be wetted in order to achieve maximum take up.
-Using different pots will give differentt results to your dye process. To avoid this effect, use stainless steel or un-chipped enamel for your dyeing. Otherwise the material the pot is made of will give a similar effect as the corresponding mordent (copper will brighten, Iron will darken). Unfortunately, there is not always enough metal released from a pot to replace the use of mordants with a pot of the same metal. Most of mine are aluminium, since they are cheap and I use alum most of the time anyway, a couple of stainless steel, and one enamel roaster for iron.
-Iron requires its own pot for mordantingg, as it stains, and will affect anything that is dyed or mordanted in that pot. A chrome mordant bath must have a lid.
-Do not boil red dyes-they turn brown. I just found that out!
Natural Dye Safety
Personal Concerns
Since the mordents are minerals and in some cases toxic in high dosages, the pots and utensils used for natural dyes must never be used for food again. Tin, Copper (blue vitriol), and particularly Chrome, can be dangerous. Care must be taken with these mordents! Always wear gloves and a dust mask when working with the mordents in powder form. Try not to breathe in the vapours when you are stirring your pot. If you are dyeing in your kitchen, make sure counters are clear (I had to throw out a bunch of cream puffs once because they got dye on them, even though I thought they were 'out of the way') and clean well after dyeing. With the more toxic mordents, avoid the kitchen altogether-dye outside or in another WELL ventilated room. Make sure you wipe up all spills, especially with chrome. And basically use common sense.
Environmental Concerns
No mordant should be dumped down the drain (in case it interferes with the water treatment-though who knows if it actually will), but it is safe to pour most of them on the ground as long as you don't overdo it. However, though not all regions have laws considering Chrome a hazardous waste, we should still consider it as such. Do not simply pour it on the ground. Conserve or dispose of it at a hazardous waste centre.
If you decide to plant some dye plants in your own garden, be aware of the fact that some of these plants should not be grown in some regions. Purple Loosestrife is illegal to plant near prairie wetlands, as woad is
in Montana and Colorado. This is because they pose a threat to those regions' ecosystems. You can probably find out what is suitable for your own region through provincial or state authorities. You can also go to the invader website of the University of Montana for the weeds considered 'noxious' in many states and provinces in North America.
Finally, be careful with gathering of wild plants, especially colonies of lichens, that you take no more than about a third of what you come across, leaving enough there to continue growth.
