One of the reasons I started this blog was to record my progress, or lack thereof. I realize as I continue to venture into the unknown, mistakes will be made. Like the one I just learned about. The subject of mordants seems to be vaguely confusing. Case in point, the garments recently dyed with red tulips looked soooo pretty when I took them out of the dye bath. My short-lived admiration turned to dismay when the beautiful color washed right down the sink and out of the garment. What went wrong? I scoured the onesies, then added the alum in the dye bath. That got me thinking about the product I was using (alum). One of my books said to use potassium aluminum sulfate. The product I was using was simply labelled alum from the spice section in any grocery store. Upon further investigation from the company of this product, I learned that the full name (not found on the label) was ammonium aluminum sulfate. Ah hah! Maybe this was the problem. I also read that I should be adding cream of tartar. I will do this with my next dye batch. Right now I am waiting for my designated dye pot to come. I will keep you posted!
No comments:
Post a Comment