Organic Madder Extract

One of the most light-fast natural dyes used for thousands of years, with healing properties that relate to the blood.

Colours:
from orangey red to scarlet and brick red.

Madder can be used to produce a range of different kinds of red, The colour outcome will depend largely on how it was grown and processed.

Ingredients:

GOTS certified organic Madder (Rubia tinctorum) extract powder

InFO/ABOUT:

Madder, also known as Dyer’s Madder and Common Madder, is native to South-West Asia and naturalized throughout Europe. Its genus name Rubia, comes from the Latin word Ruber, meaning “red”.

It is a small, evergreen, perennial shrub, growing up to 4 feet tall, with prickly stalks, 2-4 inch leaves with a spiny underside and clusters of greeny white flowers. The red brown roots which will grow up to 3 feet long, are the part we harvest for dyeing with.

Madder was once highly prized in many regions of the World, for its brilliant red dye colour. It’s cultivation as a dyestuff and medicine dates back to antiquity and only started to diminish in popularity in the mid-nineteenth century.
It’s use can be dated back as far as the ancient Egyptians, who buried their King Tutankhamen in cloth dyed with it’s red hue, circa 1370-1352 BC and in ancient China to the Zhou Dynasty, more than 2,000 years ago.
It was used as a medicinal plant by ancient civilisations and throughout the middle ages and is still farmed for Ayurvedic medicine in India today.
During the 18th century, the famous tone of the British army “redcoats” was also achieved from madder dye baths.
It was only in 1869, that the dyestuff fell out of popularity, as scientists discovered the compound alizarin, a pigment found in madder root, which they were able to synthesize and produce much more economically. This vastly reduced the demand for the traditional natural plant material.

Ancient Egyptian artists are thought to have made the first red pigments for paints with this root, and artists throughout the 13-16th century are known to use it in their portraiture.

Herbal and traditional uses:

In Ayurveda and Chinese medicine, it’s healing properties are for blood disorders. It’s also believed to stimulate menstruation, to cure jaundice, inflammations, kidney stones, dysentery and is used externally to treat wounds.

Recipe:

2% WOF

Mix powder with hot water to make paste and gradually more to make a solution without any lumps.
Add pre-wetted fibres and simmer for 60 mins or until desired depth of colour achieved. Remove from heat and cool. Rinse, wash and air dry.

Refer to my “Botanical Dyes” book for further info on dyeing instructions for cellulose/protein fibres, mordanting etc.
It’s beneficial to allow the fibres to dry for a couple of days before washing them, as this allows the colour to set in further.

You should find that you can re-use your dyebath to get a second or third batch of colours of different shades.

Fastness:

Madder is one of the most light-fast of natural dyes and has been used for thousands of years.

The colour is sensitive to temperature and the mineral profile of water.

Mordants/Modifiers:

If you have hard water where you live, you may find that the dye results are good with your water, however, if you live somewhere with soft water, you might find that you have trouble reaching a good red. If so, you can try adding alkalising chalk powder (calcium carbonate) to your dyepot, to bring out redder tones, or use slightly lower temperatures.
For 100g of wool, you can use 1 tsp madder extract for a good red and if you wish to add calcium carbonate, about 6g should suffice.

You can use an acidic modifier to shift your colours to shades of yellow and orange. Alkalines can help give pink or redder tones. An aubergine shade is also possible by mordanting with iron and then adding an alkaline solution.

Ph sensitivity:

Sensitive to ph levels.

ORIGIN:

Sourced from India.
Produced using systems approved by the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS 4.0)

Extraction Technique:

Water extracted.

Transport:

Air courier from India to UK
Shipped from Botanical Inks in Devon via Royal Mail

Packaging:

Packaged in a 100% compostable zip lock paper pouch and put inside a biodegradable corn starch mailer bag - safe for health and environment.