Madder Natural Dye Powder

Naturally dyed fabric is pre-treated with a mordant which creates the capacity for dye particles to adhere to the fibres. Once khadi has been mordanted it can be redyed several times throughout its life.
Throughout the creation of your piece we have given the utmost care and attention to every stage of its production to ensure you are receiving a beautiful, quality product. If you are new to natural fibre you will be amazed! It breathes unlike synthetic fibres, so you will find washing doesn’t need to be done after each wear.
Like all colour pigment, natural or synthetic, it can fade. 

Here are some tips on how to reduce this happening: 

•Launder with a neutral PH detergent, or as close to neutral as possible 

•Rinse clothing thoroughly after washing to remove any excess detergent 

•Never hang item to dry in direct sunlight, dry in shade


•Clothing really doesn’t need washing after each wear. After wearing if given a good shake and hung up it will be fine for quite a few wears. Often hanging out on a hanger in the shade can be enough to freshen your garment. 

•Definitely no bleach, wool wash or stain remover please!


•It is advisable to wash separately for the first couple of washes just in case there is a colour run off. When we wash items we wash until a clear water run off occurs but occasionally residual colour can run in first washes.


•Avoid soaking in water for long period of time You will also notice that your khadi gets better with each wear, it softens and gets more and more comfortable.


Naturally dyed fabrics colour can soften eventually, enjoy its life and know it can be redyed very easily.

Mordanting

Protein fibres use alum mordant at 15% WOF.

Cellulose fibres pre mordant with tannin at 8% WOF then mordant with alum acetate for best results at 8% WOF or if not available 15% of alum WOF.

Madder loves hard water so if your water source is softer try some calcium carbonate to harden your water to achieve the best reds possible.

Dyeing - Raw dye stuff

Soak weighed madder for an hour before dyeing. Overnight is good too.

After soaking slowly bring the vat to 60 degrees and hold that heat for 45mins. Allow to cool for easier handling then strain through cloth or muslin. PRO TIP: many people use nylon stocking as cloth and muslin absorbs the precious dye.

The strained dye is ready for your dye bath. Make sure you have enough water in the pot for the fabric to move freely. Add fabric and again slowly return dye bath to 60 degrees and hold for 45 - 60mins.

For a more saturated colour leave the fabric in dye bath overnight.

Please view our Natural Dyes Instruction Guide for more information.

Online purchases made on FabricofHumanity.com over $150 will receive free shipping within Australia. Shipping on purchases under $150 will be calculated o weight and will be calculated at cart checkout. International purchases will be charged on weight and destination and will be calculated at cart checkout. We ship using Australia Post and Sendle as trusted national and international shipping agents, who have a carbon-neutral shipping service (& Sendle is B Corp registered) and do offer tracking. International orders may be subject to taxes and duties and these costs are the responsibility of you, the customer. We recommend checking with your local authorities to understand possible charges before placing your order. It is important to note that depending on which country you are shipping to, Natural Dyes and Khadi & handloom textiles are considered to be unique to region and therefore can obtain duty free clearance in most circumstances - but still important to check locally. Parcels of international customers who decline to pay taxes and duties, will be returned to Fabric of Humanity and the order value will be refunded less the original shipping fee. If we currently do not ship to your country please let us know by sending us an email to hello@fabricofhumanity.com.