anjelika dreams organic: The Matter of Madder!

Natural dyes are often associated with soft, mute and pastel colors. Well, that was some time ago. Now with the correct amount of binder you are able to achieve a much vibrant hue!

Here's my experimentation with madder herb. Madder, also known as Majith, is a perennial climbing herb found widely in India and used in ancient times to dye fabrics and leather. When mixed with alum (a binding agent), it gives a very vibrant red hue. The roots and leaves of madder plant were also used as Ayurveda medicine to cure various ailments.

I bought ground madder and alum from Kremer pigments in NYC ( a great source for natural dyeing and artist's pigment colors)

I dissolved alum and water in very low heat and then combined it with the fabric in a large bucket filled with water, a process called mordanting. Typically you should give 24 hours + to this process. You want to make sure the binder fixes itself to every fiber of the fabric.

The next day, at the lowest temperature setting, mix ground madder to water. You need to make sure the temperature is extremely low because high temp will make the herb turn brown.

After 30-40 mins of simmering, use a strainer or cheese cloth to separate the dye liquid from the herb residue. Mix the dye liquid to the fabric container. Stir occasionally and repeat this process to get the desired hue.

As a precautionary measure, wear gloves and face mask. Keep the windows open for ventilation and use pots and pans that have no metal coating on it. Remember to keep these pots and pan separate from your cooking utensils.

We are extremely excited as a few of our spring/ summer 12 styles uses madder/ majith herb to derive it's rich hue from.