Mordants fixatives
If you want to have a better understanding of what dyeing is and how it works, you need to know more about mordants fixatives. Both of these are super important for the dyeing industry and it can make quite the difference. The thing you have to keep in mind is that most natural dyes are not adhering to the natural fibers without mordants or fixatives. Even if it looks great at first, the reality is that without mordants fixatives you will not be able to acquire a good results.
The mordant will adhere to the fiber or yarn that you are trying to color at this time. you can dry the mordanted yarn and then store it for later use if you want. Or you can just transfer it to the dye bath if you want, either way it will help quite a bit. The mordants fixatives are great because they help maintain the color of your fiber without actually doing anything else other than attaching the color to it.
However, some mordants are poisonous or toxic. Which is why you really have to figure out what you have to do and how to use it, so just try to consider all of that for the best results. It can totally be worth the effort, and in the end that can work really well.
What are the best mordants for natural dyeing?
You can opt for a multitude of mordants here. These include alum, iron, copper, tin and chrome. Tin, copper and chrome are toxic, so you do need to make sure that you use them with extra care. You can opt for other options if you want to avoid any major toxins to begin with. As long as you do that you will be fine, so try to consider everything and you will be more than ok no matter the situation. A low amount of mordants fixatives is needed when you opt for such an approach. Sure, the look will be great, but working with toxins can be tricky and that’s why mordants fixatives are better for people with more experience.
Great fixatives you can work with
If you want you can go with fixatives. These are mostly natural products, they help set the dye without involving chemicals. A lot of people choose fixatives because they are not hard to work with. The best fixatives involve salt, tannins, vinegar, tara powder, tartar cream, washing soda and many others. Of course, you still need to make sure that there are no major downsides or problems that can appear from this, so take your time with the entire process and you will be fine.
The mordants fixatives will be great if you want to bring in and also retain a certain color for your project. Yes, some of these can be tricky to work with, but the results can be really good if you do it right. We recommend you to use fixatives if you are a newcomer and only go for the mordants if you know what you are doing here!