Aluminum Lactate
ALUMINUM LACTATE
For natural colors on cotton
Shepherd Textiles Aluminum Lactate is a newer form of aluminum mordant intended for use on plant-based fibers like cotton and linen. The aluminum is precipitated with lactic acid, a sustainable byproduct of dairy and sugar production. Aluminum Lactate is applied in much the same way as aluminum acetate, and tends to produce a similar but softer palette of colors. For the best results we recommend treating the cotton or linen with a tannin before mordanting, and then applying Aluminum Lactate at 10% weight-of-fabric (WOF).
Shepherd Textiles Aluminum Lactate Mordant is a new tool for natural dyers who enjoy working with cotton and linen. Aluminum lactate is a a form of aluminum that is precipitated with lactic acid - a sustainable byproduct of dairy and sugar production. It can be applied in much the same was as other cotton mordants like aluminum acetate. For the best results, the cotton or linen should be treated with a tannin like Sumac Extract, Oak Gall Extract, or Oak Gall Light before applying the mordant. Before using this product, please read our Guide to Mordanting with Aluminum Lactate for important safety information, background, and instructions.
Product of France. Warning: May cause skin irritation. May cause serious eye irritation. May cause respiratory irritation. Wear gloves, eye protection, and a mask while handling. Avoid eye contact or inhalation.
1. Background on Aluminum Lactate
Shepherd Textiles Aluminum Lactate is a newer form of aluminum mordant intended for use on plant fibers like cotton and linen. It is made from aluminum precipitated with lactic acid, a sustainable byproduct of dairy and sugar production. Aluminum Lactate is applied in much the same way as Aluminum Acetate, although it tends to produce a softer palette of colors that can be reminiscent of antique textiles or heirloom linens. For the best results, it should be applied to fibers that have been pre-treated with a tannin like Sumac Extract or Oak Gall Extract, then fixed in a chalk bath. However, Aluminum Lactate is a versatile mordant that can be applied in several different ways; for lighter colors it can be directly precipitated onto the fiber, or else applied with heat rather than with a chalk bath. For the brightest and most intense colors (especially on thinner weights of cotton and linen) we recommend using Aluminum Acetate or Aluminum Formate Pro, but Aluminum Lactate works well to produce a variety of soft and natural-looking shades. Note that Aluminum Lactate is a very fine, dusty powder, so gloves, a mask, and eye protection should be worn whenever opening the jar and measuring it out.
2. Safety Precautions
WARNING: Aluminum lactate may cause skin, eye, or respiratory irritation. Wear gloves, a mask, and eye protection while handling. Avoid inhaling dust. Use only in a well-ventilated area. Do not ingest.
FIRST AID: In case of skin or eye contact, rinse with water for several minutes. If discomfort persists, seek medical advice. If swallowed, rinse mouth with water and seek medical advice if you feel unwell.
For textile projects only.
Open carefully to avoid spills. If a spill occurs, gently wipe up with a paper towel or rag to prevent dust formation.
Use this product only with pots and utensils that are dedicated to dyeing. Do not use any pots, containers, spoons, tongs, thermometers, or other utensils that are also used for food preparation.
Store out of reach of children. To prevent accidental ingestion, all dye baths and mordant baths made while dyeing should be labeled and stored out of reach of children and pets. Use only with adult supervision.
SDS available on request.
Shepherd Textiles LLC is not liable for any misuse of this product or any unintended staining of your clothing, workspace, or other property. Use only as directed.
3. Recommended Supplies
Dye pot or plastic bucket. Use a dye pot large enough to hold all your fibers, with plenty of room for them to move around and for the liquid to circulate freely. A stainless steel stock pot usually works well. A heavy-duty plastic bucket can be used instead for methods that do not require heat.
Metal tongs. A pair of tongs is useful for stirring and taking fabric out. Use tongs dedicated to dyeing, and not for food preparation.
Rubber gloves. Wear rubber gloves while handling mordanted/dyed fiber before it is rinsed.
Calcium carbonate (chalk). Chalk is used to permanently fix the mordant to the fibers.
Candy thermometer. A cheap candy thermometer that clips to the side of the dye pot will make it easier to track the temperature.
Scale. Use a scale to weigh out the mordant and the chalk.
Tannin [optional]. For the darkest colors, Aluminum Lactate should be applied to cotton or linen that has been treated with a tannin like Sumac Extract or Oak Gall Light.
Recipes
4. The Tannin Mordanting Method - Cold
This our recommended method of applying Aluminum Lactate. It uses a tannin (before mordanting) and a chalk fixing bath (after mordanting) to bond the aluminum to the fibers. This method probably gives the best balance of mordanting strength versus raw materials, or to put it more colloquially, “the best bang for your buck.” The mordant bath does not need to be heated because the Aluminum Lactate will begin to bond to the tannins soaked into the fibers at room temperature. The warm chalk bath afterwards finishes precipitating the aluminum for strong, fast colors. This method has quite a few steps and takes some time to complete, but it produces good results after dyeing.
15% Sumac Ext. + 8% Cochineal
12% Oak Gall Ext. + 4% Wild Madder Ext.
12% Pomegranate Ext. + 2% Old Fustic Ext.
12% Oak Gall Ext. + 20% Cutch
12% Pomegranate Ext. + 2% Gardenia Blue
Scour the cotton or linen fibers well. Prepare them by treating them with a tannin like Sumac Extract, Oak Gall Extract, Pomegranate Extract, Tara Pod Light, or Oak Gall Light. In general, the procedure is to dissolve 10-12% of the tannin into a dye pot with enough water for the fibers to move around freely, add the cotton or linen, bring to a boil (or simmer for an hour at just below a boil), then remove from the heat, cover, and let steep for at least 3 hours or overnight. See each product page for details. Afterwards the fibers should be gently wrung out, but not rinsed.
Fill a dye pot with enough room temperature water for the fibers to move around freely. Weigh out 10% weight-of-fabric (WOF) of Aluminum Lactate. Add to the mordant bath and mix well until fully dissolved.
Gently add your tannin-treated cotton or linen fibers. Using tongs or a similar utensil, work the fibers in the mordant bath to make sure they are evenly saturated. Make sure they are completely submerged and no bubbles are trapped underneath.
Let the fibers steep in the Aluminum Lactate mordant bath for 1 to 2 hours (1 hour for thin fabrics like tshirt cotton, and up to 2 hours for thickly spun and woven fabrics). Stir occasionally to make sure the fibers mordant evenly.
Next, prepare a chalk fixing bath: Fill a second dye pot or plastic bucket with enough hot tap water (100°F-110°F) for your fibers to move around freely. Measure out 10 grams of chalk (calcium carbonate) per liter of water in this fixing bath. Add the chalk and mix well until dispersed. The fixing bath will turn a thick, milky white color when stirred, although the particles of chalk will quickly settle to the bottom.
After the fibers are finished steeping in the Aluminum Lactate mordant bath, they are ready to transfer to the chalk fixing bath. Wearing gloves, remove the fibers from the mordant bath and let some of the excess mordant liquid drip back into the pot. Then, gently place the fibers into the chalk fixing bath. Work the fibers briefly to make sure they are evenly saturated. Make sure they are completely submerged and no bubbles are trapped underneath, and leave them to steep for 1 hour. Stir once or twice to make sure they fix evenly.
After 1 hour, the Aluminum Lactate will be completely fixed on the fibers. Remove the cotton or linen from the chalk fixing bath and rinse well in several changes of hot water (without using any soap or detergent). There will be a lot of chalk soaked into the fibers so it will take a bit of rinsing to get it all out.
Proceed directly to dyeing. The swatches above show various combinations of tannins and dyes. We have used several darker tannins (Oak Gall Extract, Pomegranate Extract) to show the range of color possibilities, but clearer tannins will work equally well. Refer to each product page for details.
Dispose of the spent mordant bath according to local regulations.
5. The Tannin Mordanting Method - Hot
This method of applying Aluminum Lactate uses heat, rather than a chalk bath, to fix the aluminum onto the fibers. The final color will not be as strong as if the cold method is used, because heat does not fix as much aluminum as a chalk bath. However, this method can work well for light and sometimes medium shades of color, especially on heavier weights of cotton and linen. Some dyers like this method because it saves a step in the relatively long process of mordanting plant fibers. However, note that if this method is followed the mordant bath cannot be re-used, because heat will tend to cause any extra mordant to precipitate as tiny, solid flakes.
10% Oak Gall Light + 4% Cochineal
10% Oak Gall Light + 1% Royal Logwood Ext.
10% Oak Gall Light + 2% French Weld Ext.
Scour the cotton or linen fibers well. Prepare them by treating them with a tannin like Sumac Extract, Oak Gall Extract, Pomegranate Extract, Tara Pod Light, or Oak Gall Light. In general, the procedure is to dissolve 10-12% of the tannin into a dye pot with enough water for the fibers to move around freely, add the cotton or linen, bring to a boil, then remove from the heat, cover, and let steep for at least 3 hours or overnight. See each product page for details. Afterwards the fibers should be gently wrung out, but not rinsed.
Fill a dye pot with enough room temperature water for the fibers to move around freely. Weigh out 10% weight-of-fabric (WOF) of Aluminum Lactate. Add to the mordant bath and mix well until fully dissolved.
Gently add your tannin-treated cotton or linen fibers. Using tongs or a similar utensil, work the fibers in the mordant bath to make sure they are evenly saturated. Make sure they are completely submerged and no bubbles are trapped underneath.
Let the fibers steep in the Aluminum Lactate mordant bath for 1 hour. This will give the mordant a chance to penetrate the fibers evenly, leading to more level (even) results. Stir occasionally to make sure the fibers mordant evenly.
After an hour, turn on the heat and gently raise the temperature to 185°F-190°F over the course of about 30 minutes. Maintain that temperature for 1 hour, stirring occasionally so the fibers mordant evenly. Keep the lid on the pot as much as possible when not stirring.
After an hour, turn off the heat and allow the fibers to cool until they can safely be handled.
Once cool enough to handle safely, remove the cotton or linen from the mordant bath and, wearing rubber gloves, rinse well in several changes of hot water until the water runs clear.
Proceed directly to dyeing. The swatches above show tshirts tanned with Oak Gall Light Extract, then dyed with Cochineal, Royal Logwood Extract, and French Weld Extract.
Dispose of the spent mordant bath according to local regulations.
6. The Direct Mordanting Method
Aluminum Lactate can be applied directly to cotton and linen fibers without the need for a tannin pre-treatment. The fibers are saturated in a strong solution of Aluminum Lactate and then fixed in a chalk bath. The colors produced tend to be clear, but not as strong as if a tannin pre-treatment is applied. Here we have used 20 grams of Aluminum Lactate per liter of water in the mordant bath, which sounds like a lot but is still quite modest in comparison to historical standards. More or less can be used, depending on the depth of shade required. This method can give good results with some dyes like weld, but it requires a large amount of mordant to build the initial bath. Once built, however, the mordant bath can be topped off with more water and more Aluminum Lactate and used again..
Tshirt + 2% French Weld Extract
Tshirt + 1% Royal Logwood Extract
Scour the cotton or linen fibers well.
Fill a dye pot with enough water for the fibers to move around freely. Weigh out 20 grams of Aluminum Lactate for each liter of water in the mordant bath (80 grams per gallon). Add and mix well until fully dissolved.
[CAUTION] Be sure to label the mordant bath and store it in a secure location out of reach of children and pets. Aluminum Lactate dissolves completely, and there will be no visual indication that the bath contains anything besides water. We do not want anyone to mistake the mordant bath for drinkable water.
Gently add your scoured cotton or linen fibers. Using tongs or a similar utensil, work the fibers in the mordant bath to make sure they are evenly saturated. Make sure they are completely submerged and no bubbles are trapped underneath.
Cover the pot or bucket and let the fibers steep for at least 2 hours. Stir the fibers two or three times while they are steeping to make sure they mordant evenly.
When ready to proceed, prepare a chalk fixing bath: fill a dye pot or plastic bucket with enough hot tap water (110°F-120°F) for your fibers to move around freely. Measure out 10 grams of chalk (calcium carbonate) per liter of water in this fixing bath. Add the chalk and mix well until dispersed. The fixing bath should be a thick, milky white color, although the chalk will quickly settle to the bottom.
Wearing gloves, gently place the dried cotton or linen fibers into the chalk fixing bath. Work the fibers briefly to make sure they are evenly saturated. Make sure they are completely submerged and no bubbles are trapped underneath, and then leave them to steep for 1 hour. Stir once or twice to make sure they fix evenly.
After 1 hour, remove the cotton or linen from the chalk fixing bath and rinse well in several changes of hot water (without using any soap or detergent). There will be a lot of chalk soaked into the fibers so it may take a bit of rinsing to get it all out.
Proceed directly to dyeing. The swatches above show cottons tshirts mordanted using this method, and then dyed with either 2% French Weld Extract (yellow) or 1% Royal Logwood Extract (purple).
The mordant bath can be reused for mordanting subsequent batches of cotton or linen. It can be topped off by adding more water and more Aluminum Lactate to replenish what has been used up. Be sure the mordant bath is labeled and stored out of reach of children.
Dispose of the spent mordant bath according to local regulations.
*All text and images are copyright of Shepherd Textiles, LLC. Do not reproduce without permission and attribution.