madderdye.md



MADDER DYE
Madder dye on silk, Loes Bogers, 2020

Description
Madder dye (can also be used as a water based ink) produces bright red to orange brownish colors on silk. One of the few natural dyes that can provide such bright red hues.

Physical form
Pastes, gels & liquids
Color without additives: bright reds to orange/brown.

Fabrication time
Preparation time: 2 Hours
Processing time: for dying is variable (overnight for intense red on silk)
Need attention: the entire processing time (temperature and stirring)
Final form achieved after: 2 hours

Ingredients


madder roots (dried) -  50 g also: Rubia Tinctorum, this is the dye stuff

water -  500 ml/g solvent

alum - 30 g (also: potassium aluminium sulphate) will draw the pigment out of the madder root.

soda ash - 5 g to create bright reds

a coffee filter to filter the fine particles from the dye
optional: 100% pure silk, or aquarel/water colors paper and a paint brush to test the dye/ink


Tools


Cooker, ideally with temperature control
Pot
A spoon
A cheese cloth or coffee filter

A thermometer (if your cooker doesn't have temperature control)
A strainer

A glass jar to store the dye
Optional: a blender or mortar and pestle


Yield
Approx. 500 ml

Method


Preparation

Weigh the ingredients (and, optional: grind the madder root into a powder using a blender. By making the dye stuff smaller, you create more surface, which makes it easier to pull the pigments out of the madder root).


Extract the pigment with alum


Bring 600 ml of water to the boil, add the alum and stir to dissolve. Bring the water down to 70 degrees celcius. Use a thermometer and make sure it doesn't exceed 70 degrees throughout the entire cooking process (the madder pigment will turn dull and brown).


Add the ground madder roots and simmer at 70 degrees for 60 minutes.


Strain the liquid into a bowl (keep the madder roots)


Put the dye back into the pot, and add the soda ash (it will froth a little), stir and continue to simmer for 10-15 minutes. This is the dye for bright reds.


Filter the liquid through a cheesecloth or coffee filter to filter out the solid bits. This may take a while.


Optional: you can keep the madder roots for a second filtration with alum solution. It won't be as intense but you will continue to get color from it albeit a bit lighter. If it holds no more color, add vinegar or another acid to modify the color of the dye from the second filtration to orange and yellow colors.


Using the ink as a dye or on paper

Use a funnel to transfer your dye into a glass jar.
Use the warm dye immediately by adding a piece of wet silk or other (mordanted fibre) to it and leave overnight. Don't put silk in hot water, it damages the fibre. Then rinse and dry the silk.
You can also use it as an ink (hot or cold). Use fine chinese brushes and aquarel/water colors paper.
To store: add a clove and store in the fridge or freeze. If it smells weird or grows fungus, throw it away and make new ink.
Using the dye at a later stage: warm up the dye by putting the glass jar au bain marie (put it in a larger pot with boiling water). Slowly heat it up until warm, not hot. Add (mordanted) fibres such as silk, leave overnight for deep hues.
Rinse and dry


Process
Madder roots, Loes Bogers, 2020
Adding alum , Loes Bogers, 2020
After the first extraction, Loes Bogers, 2020
Add a pinch of soda ash, Loes Bogers, 2020
Froth after adding soda ash, Loes Bogers, 2020

Variations on this recipe

You can extract pigment (insoluble particles) for paints by adding a 10% carbonate soda solution (25g of soda ash on 250g hot water). Add only little bits because it froths a lot. Let it precipitate and filter it through a fine cloth. Dry the solids and add a binder to create paints. See also: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YVO2Dr8gD8.
Add a binder such as arabic gum to create a nicer flow if you wish to use this ink for painting and arts, not dyeing textiles.


Cultural origins of this recipe
Before synthetic dyes were discovered in 1856, you would have had to use natural dyes which were made from animals and plants. The most common - and intense -  being madder for red, and indigo for blue. Madder came from the roots of 35 species of plants (Rubia Tinctorum) found in Southern Europe and West-Asia. It has been found in the cloth of mummies and was the ﬁrst dye to be used as camouﬂage. It was a popular dye madder in the Middle Ages and is mentioned in the Plichto van Gianventura Rosetti from 1548. Madder was brought to the south of the Netherlands and Flanders around 1300 where the clay soil was optimal for madder cultivation. This led to a thriving local industry - and for a while a monopoly - for madder production (NL: "meekrap") deemed the best quality in Europe .This was the case until garancine the synthetic counterpart for alizerine was discovered and gained in popularity around 1870.