tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-314408982884598189.post1215091444378477363..comments2023-08-06T10:35:16.566+01:00Comments on Sustainable Batik: who makes procion mx?Robin Parishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14877912318183859857noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-314408982884598189.post-81361636326726387292008-01-17T18:52:00.000+00:002008-01-17T18:52:00.000+00:00Hi HelenThanks for the info on alum. I am interest...Hi Helen<BR/><BR/>Thanks for the info on alum. I am interested to hear that some plants take it up - can you let me know more? I haven't heard of it used in gardening but that means nothing.<BR/><BR/>At the mo I am hesitating on using mordants because they are inorganic compounds. A reedbed system could be destroyed by them - hypothetical as I don't and probably won't use one. But with peak oil approaching and likelihood of less power around, the water industry will either get too expensive for the likes of most in Cornwall to afford making us look for safe alternative solutions or living so rurally and far from London we will become even lower priority. Not to be a gloom monger more to look out for options and alternatives. <BR/><BR/>Woad has apprently been given the OK by the Soil Association so presumably if it's grown in rotation then it's OK. Basically needs a season of grasses and clover etc every so often. If you are putting down nitrogen fertiliser (to improve indigo yield) then it is VERY bad for global warming, never mind for your (Welsh) soil. <BR/><BR/>Do you know who makes Procion MX?Robin Parishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14877912318183859857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-314408982884598189.post-75731930519218293902008-01-15T20:37:00.000+00:002008-01-15T20:37:00.000+00:00Mordants and the issue of metal mordantsThe most c...Mordants and the issue of metal mordants<BR/>The most common mordant and most useful one is Potassium Aluminium Sulphate, which is a naturally occurring chemical and can be, I understand used in gardening. Some plants accumulate it and some of the woodash mordants you may seem mentioned are from plants that accumulate alum. <BR/><BR/>Traditionally alum was used at 25% of dried weight of fibres but most modern dyers now follow Gill Dalby (who wrote a book called Fast and Fugitive) who established that you could succesfully mordant wool fibres at 8% for alum with 7% cream of tartar as an assistant to enable the fibres to take up the mordant. Cotton can be mordanted with aluminium actetate at 5% but I don't know of the effect fo disposing of this through the water system Earthues who pioneered this method of mordanting cotton won an award from the UN for their responsible attitude towards dyeing and mordanting.<BR/>Most natural dyers are happy with using alum at this concentration although there are always a few who want no mordants to be used and also a few likewise who feel that that it is perfectly okay to use other chemicals such as bichromium dioxide which is a poison & causes irritation in some, and I understand is illegal to dispose of down the sewerage system in the UK and chemicals such as Stannous Chloride. You will find that if you pose the question on Natural Dyes Online you will cause a heated debate with deeply entrenched positions so you are probably better of doing what I do which is read the original research! And make up your own mind. However while I accept that natural dyers of old were known for polluting rivers in times past using dyes from renewable resources and mordants responsibly has to be better than using syntheticallly created dyes (but that is my own entrenched position ) and in any case I prefer the colours! <BR/><BR/>I am very interested into your efforts to reduce your carbon footprint adn I had not really thought very hard about the issue of woad depleting the soil and that is one I would be most interested in followingHelenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05597640040480685246noreply@blogger.com