Marigold Extract
Marigold Extract
SOFT, SUSTAINABLE YELLOWS
Shepherd Textiles Marigold Extract is made from tagetes erecta, the Mexican marigold. The flower petals are rich in natural yellow pigments that can be used to dye fibers like wool and cotton, with or without a mordant (although mordanting will generally make the color a little bit stronger). Marigold Extract is a great choice both for beginners and for experienced dyers looking for sustainable colors, or seeking to minimize their use of mordant salts. Use at 5% weight-of-fabric (WOF) for lemon yellows on wool, or softer pastel yellows on cotton and linen.
Shepherd Textiles Marigold Extract is made from tagetes erecta, the Mexican marigold. The flower petals are rich in natural yellow pigments that can be used to dye fibers like wool and cotton, with or without a mordant (although mordanting will generally make the color a little bit stronger). Marigold Extract is a great choice both for beginners and for experienced dyers looking for sustainable colors, or seeking to minimize their use of mordant salts. Use at 5% weight-of-fabric (WOF) for lemon yellows on wool, or softer pastel yellows on cotton and linen.
Before using, please read our Guide to Dyeing with Marigold Extract for color recipes, background, and safety information.
1. Background on Marigold
The marigold, tagetes erecta, is a flower native to Mexico and Central America, where it has been cultivated since pre-Columbian times for ceremonial and medicinal use. After European contact the beautiful and productive flowers spread across trade routes to Africa and South Asia, where marigolds were quickly adopted as one of the main flowers of Hindu worship. In India, marigolds are strung into garlands (malas) that adorn deity statues, offered at home altars and temples during daily puja, and used for weddings, funerals, vehicle blessings, and the opening of shops and businesses. They are cultivated on a large scale, often by small farmers and agricultural communities supplying the local market. As an annual flower crop they represent a sustainable source of natural color, in contrast to industrial dyes or dyes derived from slow-growing sources like hardwood trees.
Marigold Extract behaves differently in the dye bath than many other natural dyes. Most natural yellows are flavonoids, a loosely related class of compounds like luteolin (found in weld), morin (in fustic), and rhamnetin (in persian berries) that exhibit a strong tendency to complex with metals like aluminum and iron. Flavonoids are true mordant dyes that usually produce bright yellows when dyed with aluminum or tin and olive greens in the presence of iron. In contrast, Marigold Extract contains mostly carotenoid pigments, and only a small amount of flavonoid compounds. Carotenoids possess a weak ability to bond with metal mordants and work primarily as direct dyes. Using Marigold Extract with an aluminum mordant will modestly improve the color and the fastness, but it is not required (and using it with iron will cause only a tiny shift toward green). That makes Marigold Extract a great choice for beginning natural dyers, since it will work even if the mordanting is imperfect, as well as for experienced dyers who are looking to minimize their use of metal salts.
2. Safety Precautions
This product is intended for textile projects only.
Not for use in food, cosmetics, or hair care products. Do not ingest.
This product is not classified as hazardous under GHS (the Globally Harmonized System for identifying hazardous chemicals). However, it is a strong dye and we recommend handling it with precautions appropriate for any dyestuff or pigment. Wear gloves and eye protection while handling, and wash hands after use.
If skin or eye contact occurs, flush with water.
Marigold Extract can permanently stain clothing, countertops, rugs, utensils, or other property. Avoid contact with anything not meant to be dyed.
Use only dye pots and utensils dedicated to dyeing. Do not use any pots, containers, spoons, thermometers, or other utensils that will be used for food preparation.
Metal mordants like ferrous sulfate are irritants and may be harmful if swallowed. Read your manufacturer’s safety data sheet (SDS) before use.
Marigold Extract, and all dye baths and mordant liquors made while dyeing, should be kept out of reach of children and pets. Use only with adult supervision.
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. Use a stainless steel 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.
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 extract powder and while handling mordanted/dyed fiber before it is rinsed.
Candy thermometer. Use a thermometer to keep track of the proper temperature during mordanting and dyeing.
Scale. Use a scale to weigh out fiber, mordant, and extract powder.
[Optional] Mordants. Marigold Extract does not require a mordant, but premordanting the fibers can modestly improve the color, especially on wool. Use alum for a yolk yellow shade or iron (ferrous sulfate) for a brownish or bronze shade.
[Optional] Cream of tartar. If you are dyeing unmordanted wool, adding a little cream of tartar to the dye bath can modestly improve the results, especially if you have hard water.
For woolen fibers: Scour and (optionally) mordant with aluminum or iron.
Weigh out the fibers you plan to dye (while they are dry) so that you can calculate weight-of-fabric (WOF) for dyes and mordants.
Scour (clean) the fibers well. Fill a dye pot with enough warm water for the fibers to move around freely. Add 1 teaspoon of a pH-neutral detergent like Synthrapol per pound of wool (some dyers like to use Orvus Paste instead; refer to the manufacturer’s instructions for proper use). Add the woolen fibers and raise the heat to 160°F (70°C). Maintain this heat for one hour, stirring occasionally so the fibers scour evenly. After an hour, turn off the heat. When the fibers are cool enough to handle safely, remove them and rinse in several changes of warm water until the water runs clear. Be sure to handle woolen fibers carefully to avoid felting them. Do not wring them, and do not move them from hot water directly into cold water, because sudden temperature changes can encourage woolen fibers to felt.
If you are not planning to mordant the woolen fibers, proceed directly to dyeing them (Section 5).
If you plan to mordant the scoured fibers, fill a dye pot with enough warm water for the fibers to move around freely. Weigh out 10% WOF alum and 11% WOF cream of tartar.
Add the cream of tartar to the mordant bath first and mix well until dissolved. Add the alum next, and mix well until dissolved.
Gently place your wetted, scoured fibers into the mordant bath.
Gradually heat mordant bath to 180°F (82°C) over the course of about half an hour. Maintain the heat at 180°F for 1 hour, stirring occasionally to make sure the fibers mordant evenly. Keep a lid on the bath as much as possible, as any steam will be mildly acidic.
After 1 hour, turn off the heat and allow the mordant bath to cool. The fibers can be removed as soon as they are cool enough to safely handle, or they can be left to steep in the mordant bath until it has cooled down to room temperature (which will slightly increase the amount of mordant that is absorbed).
Remove the mordanted fibers and rinse well in two or three changes of lukewarm water. The fiber should not be washed with detergent, but excess mordant and cream of tartar should be rinsed out before dyeing.
Proceed directly to dyeing.
Dispose of mordant solution according to local guidelines.
For cotton & linen: Scour and (optionally) mordant with a specialized aluminum mordant.
When dyeing cotton and linen, the fibers should first be well-scoured (cleaned). They may then be mordanted with a specialized aluminum mordant like Aluminum Acetate, Aluminum Lactate, or Aluminum Formate Pro, although this is optional. See each product page for specific instructions. For the darkest yellows, treat the fibers with a tannin first before mordanting them.
4. Preparation: Scouring & Mordanting
Marigold Extract is a substantive dye and does not require a metal mordant to work on natural fibers. However, premordanting with aluminum can modestly improve the color and the fastness. Mordanting is a complex topic and mordants can be applied to different fibers in a variety of different ways. The following are basic instructions for pre-mordanting with aluminum. Note that textile fibers should always be scoured (cleaned) well before mordanting and dyeing. If the fibers are not clean, the mordant or the dye may not be able to penetrate them evenly (leading to patchy colors) or they may only superficially attach, which will cause the color to rub off later.
Recipes
5. Natural Yellow on Woolens
Marigold Extract is a substantive dye on woolen fibers — that is, it does not require a mordant, just time and heat. When applied in this way it produces good, clear shades of yellow, although they are a bit cooler in hue than if an aluminum mordant is used. The color will not be as strong and will have reduced lightfastness when used in this way. However, for dyers who are trying to avoid or limit their use of metal mordants, this method is a valuable way of getting yellow shades on wool. Note that if you are dyeing darker shades of yellow, the wool may be difficult to rinse because there will be so much unfixed dye soaked into the fibers. There will also be lots of color left in the dye bath after dyeing; this exhaust bath can be used to dye additional fiber to a lighter shade of yellow.
Wool yarn, 1% WOF
Wool yarn, 2% WOF
Wool yarn, 5% WOF
Fill your dye pot with enough warm water for your fibers to move around freely.
[Optional] Add 1 gram cream of tartar per gallon of water in the dye bath, and mix well until dissolved. Marigold Extract works best as a direct dye in a neutral to slightly acidic bath, and a little cream of tartar will provide the necessary acidity. This step is optional, but if you have hard or alkaline water, adding a little cream of tartar can noticeably improve the final color.
Weigh out the appropriate weight-of-fabric (WOF) of Marigold Extract powder. Use 1% for a very pale pastel yellow, 2% for a pale lemon yellow, or 5% for a golden yellow. Add the powder to the dye bath and mix well until any clumps are dissolved.
Add your wetted, unmordanted wool to the dye bath.
Heat the dyebath to 180°F very gradually, over the course of about 30 minutes, stirring regularly so that the wool dyes evenly. Maintain this heat for 1 hour and continue to stir occasionally. After 1 hour, turn off the heat and allow the dye bath to cool down to room temperature.
When the bath has cooled down to room temperature, remove the wool and rinse well in warm water until the water runs clear. If necessary, wash with a pH-neutral detergent like Synthrapol. Follow the manufacturer’s directions for best results. CAUTION: Marigold Extract may bleed if not thoroughly rinsed.
Hang up to dry out of direct sunlight.
6. Natural Yellow on Cotton
Marigold Extract is not as successful a direct dye on plant fibers like cotton and linen as it is on woolen fibers. The color will be much more pale, and more prone to fading or washing out during rinsing. However, this is a relatively quick and simple way to get a pale yellow hue on plant fibers for dyers who are not especially worried about mechanical properties like fastness. Cotton will only absorb a small fraction of the dye out of the dye bath, so there may be an enormous amount of color left in the bath if a lot of dye was used; you may wish to have some other scoured fiber ready to throw into the exhaust bath to use some of it up.
Cotton tshirt, 2% WOF
Cotton tshirt, 5% WOF
Fill your dye pot with enough warm water for your fibers to move around freely.
Weigh out the appropriate weight-of-fabric (WOF) of Marigold Extract powder. Use 2% for a very pale pastel yellow or 5% for a light yellow. Add the powder to the dye bath and mix well until any clumps are dissolved.
Add your scoured, unmordanted cotton to the dye bath.
Heat the dyebath to 190°F very gradually, over the course of about 30 minutes, stirring regularly so that the cotton dyes evenly. Maintain this heat for 1.5 hours and continue to stir occasionally. After 1.5 hours, turn off the heat and allow the dye bath to cool down to room temperature.
When the bath has cooled down to room temperature, remove the cotton and rinse well in warm water until the water runs clear. If necessary, wash with a pH-neutral detergent like Synthrapol. Follow the manufacturer’s directions for best results. CAUTION: Marigold Extract may bleed if not thoroughly rinsed.
Hang up to dry out of direct sunlight.
7. Yolk Yellow on Woolens
Marigold Extract will produce a slightly warmer, deeper shade of yellow on woolen fibers that have mordanted with alum. The hue is close to an egg yolk shade. The difference versus unmordanted wool is not dramatic — the carotenoid pigments in marigolds have only a modest affinity for metal mordants — but it is noticeable. Premordanting will also make the dyed fibers easier to rinse and more resistant to fading from sunlight. The color in the dye bath will not tend to exhaust onto the fiber (unlike some of the pure flavonoid-type yellow dyes like weld and old fustic) so there may be a lot of color still left in the exhaust bath after dyeing dark shades of yellow.
Wool yarn, 1% WOF
Wool yarn, 2% WOF
Wool yarn, 5% WOF
Fill your dye pot with enough warm water for your fibers to move around freely.
Weigh out the appropriate weight-of-fabric (WOF) of Marigold Extract powder. Use 1% for a pastel yellow, 2% for a light lemon yellow, or 5% for a deep golden yellow. Add the powder to the dye bath and mix well until any clumps are dissolved.
Add your wetted, alum-mordanted wool to the dye bath.
Heat the dyebath to 180°F very gradually, over the course of about 30 minutes, stirring regularly so that the wool dyes evenly. Maintain this heat for 1 hour and continue to stir occasionally. After 1 hour, turn off the heat and allow the dye bath to cool down to room temperature.
When the bath has cooled down to room temperature, remove the wool and rinse well in warm water until the water runs clear. If necessary, wash with a pH-neutral detergent like Synthrapol. Follow the manufacturer’s directions for best results. CAUTION: Marigold Extract may bleed if not thoroughly rinsed.
Hang up to dry out of direct sunlight.
8. Yolk Yellow on Cotton
Premordanting cotton with a tannin and an aluminum mordant will modestly improve the depth of color, although not so much as on wool. This method can be used to get a slightly deeper shade on plant fibers using Marigold Extract, as well as to improve fastness. However, mordanting cotton is a lot of work and if you go to all that trouble, it may be worthwhile to consider using an alternative flavonoid-based dye like French Weld Extract or Persian Berry Extract, which will give much deeper colors when used on well-mordanted cotton.
Oak Gall Light + Alum. Formate Pro + 5% WOF
Prepare the cotton or linen fibers by applying a tanning like Oak Gall Light Extract, Sumac Extract, or Tara Pod Light, then a specialized aluminum mordant like Aluminum Acetate, Aluminum Lactate, or Aluminum Formate Pro. See each product page for details.
When ready to proceed, fill your dye pot with enough warm water for your fibers to move around freely.
Weigh out 5% weight-of-fabric (WOF) of Marigold Extract powder. Add the powder to the dye bath and mix well until any clumps are dissolved.
Add your alum-mordanted cotton to the dye bath.
Heat the dyebath to 190°F very gradually, over the course of about 30 minutes, stirring regularly so that the cotton dyes evenly. Maintain this heat for 1.5 hours and continue to stir occasionally. After 1.5 hours, turn off the heat and allow the dye bath to cool down to room temperature.
When the bath has cooled down to room temperature, remove the cotton and rinse well in warm water until the water runs clear. If necessary, wash with a pH-neutral detergent like Synthrapol. Follow the manufacturer’s directions for best results. CAUTION: Marigold Extract may bleed if not thoroughly rinsed.
Hang up to dry out of direct sunlight.
9. Bronze Yellow on Woolens
Most natural yellow dyes (like weld and fustic) are composed almost entirely of flavonoids, which characteristically shift to an olive green color in the presence of iron. Marigold Extract, which contains primarily carotenoids, behaves differently. Rather than shifting to a deep olive, the color becomes a duller, browner shade of yellow with a slightly greenish hue at higher concentrations. The result is either an interesting bronze shade or an unpleasant dirty yellow, depending on how these things strike you. It is not clear if iron is interacting with the caroteinoid pigments themselves, or if the greenish cast is simply due to the small flavonoid content. In any case, we have included this recipe for the sake of dyers who are curious to know what would happen if Marigold Extract is used with an iron mordant.
Wool yarn, 1% WOF
Wool yarn, 5% WOF
Prepare the woolen fibers by mordanting them with 5% ferrous sulfate and 10% cream of tartar, according to the directions in Section 4 (the process is exactly the same as if mordanting with alum).
Fill your dye pot with enough warm water for your fibers to move around freely.
Weigh out the appropriate weight-of-fabric (WOF) of Marigold Extract powder. Use 1% for a pale brownish yellow, or 5% for a bronze yellow. Add the powder to the dye bath and mix well until any clumps are dissolved.
Add your wetted, iron-mordanted wool to the dye bath.
Heat the dyebath to 180°F very gradually, over the course of about 30 minutes, stirring regularly so that the wool dyes evenly. Maintain this heat for 1 hour and continue to stir occasionally. After 1 hour, turn off the heat and allow the dye bath to cool down to room temperature.
When the bath has cooled down to room temperature, remove the wool and rinse well in warm water until the water runs clear. If necessary, wash with a pH-neutral detergent like Synthrapol. Follow the manufacturer’s directions for best results. CAUTION: Marigold Extract may bleed if not thoroughly rinsed.
Hang up to dry out of direct sunlight.
*Color swatches are for informational purposes only. The final color of any dyed piece will depend on a multitude of factors and cannot be guaranteed.
*All text and images are copyright of Shepherd Textiles, LLC. Do not reproduce without written permission and attribution.