Mordants & Tannins

Mordants are used in combination with natural dyes to make the colours lightfast and washfast. Some Mordants, like alum, prepare the cloth to receive the dye and do not add their own colour, others, like myrobalan, tannin and iron, will impart a colour to the cloth and can be used to significantly alter the colour of a dye. It is the combination of dyes and mordants that will yield a rich spectrum of colours.

See our How to Dye With Indigo instructions

For in-depth information on natural dyes see our Guide to Natural Dyes available on naturaldyes.ca. Also available as a Printable PDF
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