Mordant info (1 of 2)

Mordants treat the fabrics so that the color imparted by the dye bonds to the fibers. There are several kinds, aluminum, tin, chrome, and copper are some of the most common

For aluminum mordants I’ll start with ammonium aluminum sulfate, which I can get from B & H Photo, ~$15 for a pound, as a photographer’s developing reagent. B & H is probably the least expensive source for craft sized projects. They special order it, so it would be good to note a two to four week lead time for delivery.

Ely Drugs sells 12 oz. of ammonium aluminum sulfate for ~$16, http://store.elydrugs.biz/alumpge.html they have a stated use as for pickling. And, another supplier, (kosher even) is Holland Company, I didn’t check the pricing but they supply it for wastewater treatment.

Another use that I became aware for ammonium alum of is in the manufacture of deodorant. The Delicious Organics folks, http://www.deliciousorganics.com/Controversies/aluminum.htm warn against the use of these deodorants, which might be worthy of note. (They do give aluminum chloride a (relatively) clean bill of health in anti-perspirants because it affects the production of perspiration differently. But reading up on aluminum chloride eliminates it from consideration as a mordant for right now.)

When I spent some time at the local markets looking for alum for pickling, none of the supermarkets nor any of the niche food markets carried it.

The aluminum mordants are used in conjunction with things like Cream of Tarter and tannic acid. I’ll have to get my own supply of Cream of Tarter so as not to alter the kitchen equilibrium. Apparently Cream of Tarter is used along with protein fibers like wool and silk, so, for my beginning purposes, wool.

I didn’t expect that mordants would be this time consuming. I’ll continue with, and should finish with info and sources next time. I might have more later when considering some other dyes, like the Hopi black dye. (What did they use?)