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[ Home ] [ Up ] [ Color Charts ] [ Dyeing Techniques ] [ Dyeing Notes ] [ Scouring Fabric ]
Scouring Fabric
Kimberly Baxter Packwood © 2001
When
working with any mordant or dye powder always wear a respirator with fresh
filters.
NOTE: Any dyeing
equipment used in natural dyeing, should never ever be used or reused for the
preparation, storage or cooking of food or beverages.
What Scouring Does:
-
Scouring fabric is easy and will
ensure excellent dye uptake every time.
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Scouring
is a two step process, both steps must be followed if you wish to acquire the
greatest depth of color.
-
Scouring
fabric removes the grease, dust, dirt and grime that fabrics encountered during
the manufacturing process and transit.
How to Scour Your Fabric:
- Simply wash your fabric,
this includes PFD fabric, in the washing machine in hot water with
Soda Ash. Do not add any fabric softeners to the wash. If you must
dry your fabric do so without any fabric softener sheets
- NOTE: Fabric
softeners interfere with both natural and synthetic dye uptake.
- Using an large
enamel or stainless steel pot, fill the pot at least half full and place one
ounce of soda ash into the pot per pound of cotton or linen fabric/fiber.
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Place
fabric into water, swish it around using a stainless steel spoon.
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Bring water to
a boil!!!
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Adjust
heat to a low boil/hard simmer and allow to boil for two hours. stir the
fabric every 15 minutes or so t make sure that the fabric is being adequately
scoured
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After two
hours remove from heat source, allow fabric to cool down until the fabric is at
room temperature.
-
Remove the
fabric from the water and rinse.
NOTE:
If the
water is brown or grey replace the water & soda ash mixture with fresh water and
soda ash and re-scour the fabric, it is not clean yet. repeat this process until
the fabric rinses clean and the scour water is only mildly dirty.
Your fabric is
now ready to be Mordanted & Dyed!
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