Craft · 6 pages · 12 min
How mordants help a dye stay
A mordant is a metal salt or tannin that ties a dye molecule to the fiber so washing does not lift it.
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From the opening
Many natural dyes do not grab a fiber strongly by themselves, so a wash would carry the color away. A mordant, often a metal salt, sits between dye and fiber and gives both something to hold. The opening covers metal ions bridge dye and fiber, alum and iron shift the hue, and tannin helps cellulose grip.
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Inside
- Metal ions bridge dye and fiber
- Alum and iron shift the hue
- Tannin helps cellulose grip
- Not every dye needs one
- Where the idea stops applying
- A distinction worth keeping
Sources
- Metal mordant dye complexes
- Tannin pretreatment of cellulose