The Ancient red. A minimum of three years is required to bring the red root of Rubia Tinctorum known as Madder, to maturity. Best grown in a large pot rather than directly in the soil, unless you enjoying digging.
Madder is known as an invasive plant with prolific tiny yellow flowers which later mature into thousands of dark purple berries, Available here for those who wish to grow their own madder from madder seeds
Harvest roots are pencil thickness of greater. Roots are then cured for a two to three weeks period, before being sorted, scrubbed down completely, chopped and dried.
Various Shades of red, orange and pink and brown can be acquired from the ground roots of the madder plant.
To extract colour place powder or chips in pan and bring to a gentle simmer for 30mins-1hr. To coax colour keep the temperature around 40C.
Strain the madder water through a fine muslin to remove any particles which would get stuck on fabric or in yarn for lighter shades.
Return liquid to dye bath saucepan and warm through gently adding your chosen mordanted fibre. For RED you will need to increase alkalinity with an alkaline modifier, such as calcium hydroxide or washing soda / sodium bicarbonate.
Alternatively net roots in a muslin bag and keep them in the dye pot, advised for obtaining red dye, as madder can be slow to release alizarine the red dye component.
Keep items in dye pot moving for the first hour to ensure there are no air bubbles, so dye takes up evenly, allow item to sit for 12-24 hours, stirring occasionally, depending on the depth of colour required.
Quantity required depends on the weight of fabric (WOF) and can range from 30%-100% depending on the weight of fabric, fabric composition and colour required.
50g & 100g packs available.
For wholesale please email George @bailiwickblue / bailiwickblue@icloud.com Thank you.
Grown & prepared, in Guernsey, Channel Islands, UK
