Pomegranate Natural Dye Extract

Natural dye fades. Yes it does. Celebrate it.

The expectation of 100% guarantee in our modern world has far reaching ramifications silently building in the background of our lives. That nothing is permanent or perfect is a breathtaking and empowering realisation. The best way to describe colour fading is that it is the exquisite journey of natural dye. It is not a blatant fade as with chemical dyes. Instead it goes on a slow journey - breaking down the hues and shades that nature has built with her pigments. The wonderful thing not many realise is that if mordanted correctly at the beginning of the dyeing process the garment can be re-dyed multiple times over its lifetime without having to re-mordant. 

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

A great dye to experiment with percentage vs WOF as even 10% WOF will give delicates shades, 20% WOF is a standard for a soft shade. 5 - 10% if using the extract.

It can also be a wonderful dye to combine with iron to achieve olives and moss greens.

Mordant

Protein fibres use alum mordant at 15% WOF.

If using as a dye there is enough tannin in Pomegranate so you can proceed straight to Alum at 15% WOF or Alum acetate at 8% WOF.

To use Pomegranate as a mordant on cellulose fibre in raw form at 10-15% WOF or extract 5 - 8% WOF as a tannin bath and then follow up with alum acetate at 8% WOF or alum at 15% WOF
 

Dyeing

Place dye stuff, both raw or extract into a bowl and add enough warm water to dissolve thoroughly then add to dye bath. For extract you may want to leave sit for 15 minutes to fully dissolve.

Depending on the shade required raw dye at 10-30% WOF for medium shades of soft yellow and 3-10% WOF for extract.

Dye bath can often be reused. Bring to boil and simmer for one hour.

Allow fabric to sit in dye bath overnight for a more saturated colour.

Iron post mordant will give soft olive greens.

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.