Madder plant

The use of natural dyes by humans goes back as far as the Neolithic era. Many of the sources for natural dyes used on textiles were plants. The extraction and fixation of dyes were of considerable economic importance in many places throughout the world. Here we start a series of hubs dedicated to the plant species that were the sources of some of most famous and important dyes.

Wide selection of Natural Dyes at discount prices! We also carry the mordants, supplies, and instructions for dyeing with natural dyes.

Madder roots.

Rubia tinctorum | madder | red dye plant

Articles Published articles have appeared in the Journal of the Association of Weavers Spinners and Dyers Guild, London Guild Warp & Weft and British Fibre Art. We are always happy to write for…

Roots of the Madder plant have been used since ancient times to dye leather, wool, cotton and silk RED. It was even used to dye the British Army's Redcoats.

Madder Crop History in the Netherlands

Roots of the madder plant are dried, crushed and hulled. All parts of the madder plant contain the pigment, but the roots have the largest concentration. The roots are boiled in weak acid to dissolve the dye, and fermented (in which the glycosides to hydrolyze to anthraquinones).The extracted dye is made into a pigment by dissolving the dye in hot alum (aluminum potassium sulphate; AlK(SO4)2 · 12 H2O) solution, and precipitating the pigment with soda or borax.

Wool dyed with Madder roots. #RubiaCordifolia #EthelMairet #DitchlingMuseumOfArtsAndCrafts #AVANI

Natural Dyeing with Madder Root Earthy gorgeous reds epitomize the Natural Dye revolution. And Madder Root, with its ancient history -- its color, always in concert with other natural hues, and its process, brewing a cauldron of long-lasting color, one pot at a time -- is no newcomer...