Dye - Cutch

Acacia Catechu As a dye Cutch yields yellowish browns, nutmegs, grey browns and olive browns.

Cutch has excellent light and wash fast properties. It requires 20-50% WOF to dye a medium depth of shade. Use alum mordant at 15% WOF for both protein and cellulose fibres (there is enough tannin in cutch so mordanting with tannin is not required).

Before 1856, Natural dyes were used in time honoured techniques (as far back as 1500BC) but once synthetic dyes were invented in 1856, textile dyers and artisans moved from traditional natural dyes to synthetic dyes to colour their cloth and fibre. 

They will dye any natural fibre using a handful of non-toxic mordants and additives to help fix the dye and also give you more colour variations. Natural dyeing is very much about reconnecting with the past - apart from using the plant materials you have at hand in your own garden, there are a number of traditional Natural Dyes and extracts including Indigo, Madder, Cochineal and Fustic.

By combining different dyes, mordants and depths of shade, you will produce an amazing palette of deep to subtle pastel colours. We hope you enjoy your Natural Dyeing adventure!