How to Make Aluminum Acetate as Mordant for Plant Dye *Updated Video*
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- Опубліковано 15 лип 2023
- You can make mordant for textiles colored with plant dyes by combining white vinegar and baking soda with one other ingredient.
CAUTION
I completely forgot to mention in this video to please be cautious if you decide to try and make what's being demonstrated. The baking soda/vinegar (sodium acetate) can pop up out of the pan when being heated, especially at high temperatures. Be sure to stand back as the crystals are forming. Also, be careful not to inhale the potassium aluminum sulfate (store-bought alum) when using it. Wearing a mask is a goot idea.
Alum is often mentioned as a mordant for textile dyeing with plant dyes. However, the information isn't always clear on the kind of alum.
Plant dyes don't always fix well onto cellulose fibers. To remedy this, aluminium acetate plus a tannin solution can be used as mordant.
White vinegar along with baking soda can be prepared then mixed with potassium aluminium sulfate to make aluminum acetate. Watch this video to find out how it's done.
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I talk more about my explorations and experimentations with the use of plants to make natural dyes. Sign up for a monthly newsletter here: dashboard.mailerlite.com/form... - Навчання та стиль
Travaillez sur votre hygiène personnelle, notamment les ongles, les poils sur les jambes et la propreté de l'évier, mais pour être honnête, d'un point de vue technique et de combinaison de couleurs, vous êtes excellent.
I do appreciate the compliment with which you ended your remark. Regarding the other matters, it is all fine from my perspective, the one that matters most. I work outside with plants and soil constantly. I am also a hygienic mammal with hair. Also a full-grown adult, with children, not a child myself. I'm happy, healthy, and free. All is well with my soul. I hope the same for you. Merci beaucoup. :)
If you add too much baking soda, you could add more vinegar until the sediment dissolves and the reaction is complete to get the correct ratio again. 😊 I’m only in the researching and collecting stage of making plant dyes, so I wanted to say how much I appreciate the knowledge you have shared! I’m about to check out your channel to see what you are making with them. 😉 I have jars of flowers, skins, seeds, and pits I’m saving up while I learn. I am planning to make myself a capsule wardrobe with a lot of linen pieces, and I want to learn how to make plant dyes for the clothing I make. 😅 Thanks for sharing!
Yes! that is true abou the baking soda/vinegar combo. Sometimes it seems like I'm using an entire bottle of vinegar and the baking soda just isn't dissolving. It sometimes takes some trial and error and finessing. Things usually work out fine. I'm glad you're getting into making your own natural dyes! I find it to be very satisfying. I don't necessarily dye clothes with the dyes I make, although I do have a small collection of thrifted pieces that I've only used turmeric with. I really just do this for mental health purposes, experimention, to channel creativity, to regularly engage in nature in a capacity of learning, and most of all to share with viewers what I'm learning! I'm glad you find it useful. I really like the idea of a capsule wardrobe with natural dyes!
Thanks for watching and commenting!
Nice linen and cotton seem to work best with alkaline than with acidic and wool and silk seem to work best with acid..I would just use alum and water alone there's really no po8nt mixing vinegar and baking soda as they just make water anyway. And cotton doesn't need the acidity. If you were doing silk im not sure I've not needed to use alum on silk it seems to work fine with just the vinegar...
I don’t know much about dyeing textiles. I don’t even know what mordant is. But I’m into chemistry as a hobby. You should be able to make aluminum acetate directly by cutting up bits of aluminum foil and putting it in a glass bowl with 30% cleaning vinegar. If you heat it up a bit outdoors it’ll dissolve faster. Eventually it’ll just be a liquid. If any bits are left add more vinegar or filter it in a coffee filter. Then heat it to a simmer until it dries out.
Very interesting! Thank you for sharing the info. Currently researching this, since I'm definitely someone who would try it!
Just became a new subbie, I am just starting my during journey ... I once used food colouring, and once used bought fabric dyes, both were ok but I want to do this type of dyeing ... Thank you for your video.
Hi! I’ve Tried Several Times With Aluminum Sulfate and All My Botanical Prints Washed Away When Rinsed. Thank You Very Much for Explaining the Differences Between Aluminum Sulfate and Aluminum Acetate! Hoping I Can Get This Eco-Printing to Work For Me🙏
I'm so glad the info was useful for you! Most of everything I was reading about this referred to the use of aluminum potassium sulfate. I've only come across one source that talked about aluminum acetate plus tannin being better, particularly for cellulose fibers. Unfortunately, I can't even cite the source, as it was literally a sentence or two, and I don't recall where I read it. But as I've experimented with this, I have found that aluminum acetate, especially when combined with some form of tannin, does work well as a cellulose mordant. I hope you find some success with this. Color washing out after all that work and high hopes is no fun!
Thank you.💚🙏
Thanks for sharing your knowledge! How much hot water did you use to dissolve the AA? Proportions please.
Here are a few relevant points. When using AA or alum these days:
1. I don't typically follow the WOF (weight of fiber) method unless I'm dyeing a large garment like a long dress. This is rare.
2. For fabric pieces 1/4-1/2 yards (which is the largest I usually dye), I dissolve 2 teaspoons in 1 cup of warm water. I then add that to a larger glass container of water and soak the fabric in that.
3. I'm usually only dyeing very small cuts of fabric these days when experimenting, and may only dissolve a sprinkle or 2 of mordant in water to prep the fabric.
4. The large glass container that I use for mordanting purposes is an ongoing bath of water and mordant. There's always some amount of mordant in there. Depending on what I'm doing, I may not add more but rather just use what's already in there. I may use this a few to several times before changing the water, adding new mordant at times, and adding none at other times.
Thanks for the question! Let me know if you have any others.
Wow! I would never have thought of or considered making my own mordant. Keep in mind, I’m attending my 1st class of Eco Dying next week. I will definitely ask the teacher if she’s ever made her own mordant.
Thank you for your very well filmed tutorial & your very nice explanation!! Have fun dying!! I’d definitely like to see what you make from the fabrics you dye or the clothes you dye. I just subscribed to your channel!!
Thank you so much! Ive been experimenting and learning for two years now using plants that grow around me. At this point I think I'm ready to delve more into dyeing garments. Best wishes with your class!
Thank you so much for this video! How much Alum did you add in your recipe?
Once the sodium acetate is made, I just do a half-and-half ratio, so 1/2 sodium acetate to 1/2 of the store-bought alum. Thanks for watching!
Very interesting. Would really like see if this works. I cannot obtain ready-made aluminium acetate either, but I have a recipe to make some with alumiunium potassium sulfate, vinegar and soda ash (plain washing soda) and am wondering if you have the right kind of soda, because baking soda has the tendency to change colours and is used as a modifier, but not for mordanting. Could there maybe be an error here? But then again, I am not a chemist and don't know what happens when baking soda is mixed with vinegar ....
Thanks for watching and commenting! For this experienment, I used aluminum potassium sulfate and white vinegar along with regular/plain baking soda. I'm not sure what the result will be if you use soda ash. I've made soda ash by heating baking soda in the over, but I haven't used it for making aluminum acetate.
The recipe I used is based on info found online in a few sciency places where regular baking soda was used. I may experiement with soda ash, though, now that you've mentioned it.
The chemical reaction that takes place between the vinegar and baking soda--which I've read about, but I'm no chemist either--creates something completely new. Once that new substance or chemical formed, is heated to crystals, and is then combined with the aluminum potassium sulfate, the color changing tendency of the baking soda -*-seems-*- to be eliminated. I'll have to experiment more. However, in my experience with certain dyes, aluminum potassium sulfate alone or the newly made aluminum acetate can change the color of plant dyes. So, it seems that alum in general--whether it be the one purchased (APS) or the one I've made in this video-- can change dye.
For instance, when I make hibiscus flower dye, it's pink. When I add a bit of alum (either one) it turns purple immediately. Turmeric dye can also be easily changed with alum but also with baking soda, as you may know.
I said a lot, but hopefully something in there helped. I will make a note to do a related video on all of this.
You should definitely use Soda ash ! Baking Soda is having much more ingredients which are made for baking, not doing mordant ❤️
Hi. I’ve really enjoyed this video. It’s expensive to ship aluminum acetate into Fiji. This is worth the time. They have alum, baking soda and vinegar so im going to try this recipe. Thanks! I’m from Ct USA. I’m not new to eco printing or natural dying but I’m trying to learn about tropical plants that can give good prints and make great dye now that I’ve retired to Fiji. Could you share more on your tropical plants and what has worked best for your printing practice? Then I can try and google to find here in Fiji and experiment. Thanks for your help. Oh, do you have knowledge about this Epsom salts mordant I’ve been hearing about on all the platforms? If yes…Share please.🙏🏻
I'm so glad you enjoyed it! It's also great that you can get your hands on the ingredients to give it try. The two plants that I have eco printed with the most that grow in my yard and that are considered tropical are Brazilian joyweed and the red plumes of the red (torch) ginger plant. I've also used peregrina, orange geiger flowers, and African tulips. Yellow wedelia flowers work well. If you are into the plant tapping method (hapa zome), these all work well for that, too, with the exception of African tulips perhaps. I can share more as I experiment more. I will try Epson salt as a mordant soon! Someone else asked about that a month ago, and I need to get to it. I'm intrigued by the idea.
What is the proportion of sodium acetate to alum powder please? It didn't look to be equal in the video. Thanks for this info, good to know and experiment with.
The few sources I read do say half, and and half, and that's definitely my intention and what I typically do despite any inconsistency in the video. Thanks for watching!
Thanks for that!@@plantdyefortextiles