Venetian Red 75g (2.6 oz)

Venetian Red: A natural earth containing hematite

Place of Origin: Italy

Principle components: Fe₂O₃   SiO₂

Earth pigments come from clays and oxides and are best known by names such as burnt sienna, umber and ochre. Maiwa works with small companies who prepare these pigments using centuries-old traditional methods. Our pigments are ground extra fine for textile use.

Earth pigments are not dyes: they do not dissolve in solution, nor do they form molecular bonds with cloth fibres. Earth pigments are minerals and oxides that are collected all over the world for their characteristic colours. To work on textiles, the pigment is suspended in a medium and the medium bonds with the cloth. Acrylic is a popular media, however, at Maiwa we prefer soymilk. The protein in soymilk binds the earth pigments to the fibres.

For more information please see our Earth Pigment instructions.