WILD MADDER EXTRACT
Wild Madder Extract
THE CLASSIC CRIMSON
Shepherd Textiles Wild Madder Extract is made from the wild-growing roots of Rubia tinctorum, the true Turkish madder. Historically, madder was the most important of the natural red dyes because it gives deeply saturated, lightfast shades of red. However, raw madder roots are extremely complex: they contain a variety of anthraquinone dye compounds, including yellow, brown, and purple pigments, which can shift the color of the dye bath. Our Wild Madder Extract contains fewer of those compounds and a higher proportion of the red pigment alizarin, which makes it possible to consistently produce beautiful, clear scarlet shades. Just 5% weight-of-fabric (WOF) will produce intense reds on fibers that have been thoroughly mordanted with alum. One ounce of extract will dye up to a pound of fiber to deep red, or up to two pounds to pale pink and peach colors.
Before using, please read our Guide to Dyeing with Wild Madder Extract for color recipes, background, and safety information.
Product of India. Produced by a GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) certified manufacturer.
Shepherd Textiles Wild Madder Extract is made from the roots of wild-harvested Turkish madder, rubia tinctorum. This highly concentrated extract is rich in alizarin, a natural red pigment that produces clear shades of crimson red with an aluminum mordant. Iron will shift the hue toward a deep eggplant purple, and a tin mordant will produce a fiery orange. Wild Madder Extract gives strong results on all natural fibers including wool, silk, cotton, and linen. Use at 3-5% WOF for medium to dark shades on well-mordanted fiber. For textile projects only.
1. Background on Madder
Madder root, rubia tinctorum, is one of the oldest and most important of all the natural dyes. Madder roots are complex: they contain a variety of red, orange, and yellow pigments that together produce warm red shades that are very resistant to fading. Madder has been used as a dye since at least the days of ancient Egypt, when madder-colored cloth was placed in Tutankhaman’s tomb. Madder became especially important during the Early Modern era, when dyers in the Ottoman Empire developed an extremely elaborate method for getting clear crimsons using madder root. This famous “Turkey red” color required a long process of repeatedly mordanting cotton with oil and aluminum, dyeing it, then using various physical and chemical treatments to flush out the orange and yellow pigments and intensify the crimson red shade. This “Turkey red” was considered the best red that could be dyed on cotton and it was in high demand for centuries. Madder remained one of the main pillars of the dyeing industry until 1869, when alizarin became the first natural pigment to be synthesized from coal tar. The switch to cheap synthetic alizarin lead to a worldwide collapse of madder agriculture. Today, small producers in India, Turkey, and France are bringing high-quality natural madder root back to the market.
Shepherd Textiles offers two different madder extracts, Wild Madder Extract and Rustic Madder Extract. Both dyes are made from the same species of madder, rubia tinctorum, but they are extracted with different goals in mind. Wild Madder Extract starts with alizarin-rich roots and then further concentrates the alizarin fraction (the dominant red pigment) while leaving behind many of the orange and yellow pigments. Rustic Madder Extracts attempts to preserve the complete root profile by extracting all the various pigments, including precursor chemicals like ruberythic acid and pseudopurpurin. Rustic Madder Extract is a more specialized product for dyers and artists looking to take advantage of the orange and yellow pigments in the plant. The majority of natural dyers will probably be best served by using Wild Madder Extract, which is more potent and gives a clearer crimson red shade with less fuss (it is less finicky about temperature, pH, and calcium). Wild Madder Extract gives excellent results on all natural fibers, although it is important to note that madder is purely a mordant dye so success will depend on good mordanting before the fiber is dyed.
2. Safety Precautions
This product is intended for textile projects only.
Do not ingest.
Avoid eye contact. If eye contact occurs, rinse well with cool water.
Avoid direct skin contact. If skin contact occurs, rinse well with cool water.
Wear gloves, a mask, and eye protection while handling the dry pigment. Work in a well-ventilated space, and wash hands after use.
Not for use in food, cosmetics, soap, or hair care products.
Open carefully to avoid spilling or creating dust. If a spill occurs, quickly wipe up with a paper towel or disposable rag.
Wild Madder Extract can permanently dye 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, tongs, thermometers, or other utensils that will be used for food preparation.
Metal mordants like ferrous sulfate and stannous chhloride are irritants and may be harmful if swallowed. Read your manufacturer’s safety data sheet (SDS) before use.
Wild Madder 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. Rustic Madder Extract may leave faint stains on metal dye pots. If so, the stain can usually be scrubbed out with a scouring pad.
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.
Alum, iron, or tin mordant. Madder is a mordant dye and a metal mordant is required for the best colors. Use alum or aluminum sulfate for reds, iron mordant (ferrous sulfate) for purples, and tin (stannous chloride) for orange.
Calcium carbonate or calcium acetate. Madder in general requires calcium to develop a good red or purple shade. Unless your water is already hard (e.g., calcium-rich), you will need to supplement it by adding some calcium to the dye bath. Calcium acetate is generally the preferred form in this case because it dissolves completely and does not raise the pH of the bath very much, but calcium carbonate can also be used with good results.
Cream of tartar. Cream of tartar is required to properly mordant wool, and can also be used to slightly acidify the dye bath.
4. Preparation: Scouring & Mordanting
Madder is a mordant dye, which means that it only bonds effectively to textile fibers with the aid of a metal mordant like aluminum or iron. Mordanting is a complex topic and mordants can be applied to different fibers in a variety of different ways. The following instructions are 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 may not be able to penetrate them evenly (leading to patchy colors) or the mordant may only superficially attach to the fibers, which will cause the color to rub off later.
For woolen fibers: Scour and mordant with 10% alum and 11% cream of tartar.
Weigh out the fibers you plan to dye (while they are dry). Multiply that weight by 0.1 to get the amount of alum you will need, and by 0.11 to get the correct amount of cream of tartar. For example, for a 100-gram skein of wool yarn, you will 10 grams of alum and 11 grams of cream of tartar.
Before mordanting, 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.
When ready to begin mordanting, fill a dye pot with enough warm water for the fibers to move around freely.
Add the cream of tartar 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 mordant with a specialized aluminum mordant.
When dyeing cotton and linen, the fibers should first be well-scoured (cleaned). They should then be mordanted with a specialized aluminum mordant like Aluminum Acetate, Aluminum Lactate, or Aluminum Formate Pro. See each product page for specific instructions.
For silk: Scour and mordant with 15%-25% alum
Weigh out the fibers you plan to dye (while they are still dry). Multiply that weight by 0.15 or 0.25 to get the amount of alum you will need. Use 15% for heavy silks or lighter shades of red, or up to 25% for dark reds on thin silks like habotai.
Scour the silk. Fill a dye pot with warm water and add 1 tsp soap (Synthrapol or Orvus Paste) per pound of fiber. Add the fibers and gently heat the scouring bath to 160°F (70°C). Maintain this temperature for one hour, then turn off the heat and allow to cool. When cool enough to handle safely, remove and rinse in warm water.
When ready to begin mordanting, fill a dye pot with enough warm water for the fibers to move around freely. Add the alum and mix well until dissolved.
Gently place your wetted, scoured fibers into the mordant bath.
Gradually heat mordant bath to 160°F (70°C) over the course of about half an hour. Maintain the heat at 160°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 down to room temperature. 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 overnight. This will increase the amount of mordant that is absorbed, but may result in uneven colors after dyeing if there are any folds in the fabric or any bubbles trapped beneath it (which will cause some areas to absorb more or less mordant as it steeps).
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 should be rinsed out before dyeing.
Proceed directly to dyeing.
Recipes
5. Crimson on Woolens
Wild Madder Extract produces a series of deep pink and crimson shades on woolen fibers mordanted with aluminum. The exact shade of red can vary somewhat depending on the chemistry of the dye bath. Plenty of calcium is required for a full red to develop; otherwise the color may tend toward an orange or orange-brown. A neutral or acidic dye bath will tend to produce very slightly warmer shades of red, whereas an alkaline dye bath (for example, a bath made using hard water, or a bath supplemented with calcium carbonate) will tend to produce a slightly cooler, more blueish shade of red. Regardless of the exact hue, all the red colors produced have good fastness to light.
Wool yarn, 1% WOF
Wool yarn, 2.5% WOF
Wool yarn, 5% WOF
Fill your dye pot with enough warm water for your fibers to move around freely.
[Optional] Add 1-2 grams of calcium acetate or calcium carbonate per gallon of water in the dye pot. Madder requires calcium in the bath to develop a good red: if there is not enough calcium present, the color will tend toward a dull orange-brown and the dye in the dye bath will stop exhausting onto the fiber. Whether you need to supplement with extra calcium will depend on how hard your water is, but if you have very soft water or you are dyeing very dark shades, you will almost certainly need to add some extra calcium. Calcium acetate is generally preferred here because it is fully soluble, leaves no sediment, and will not raise the pH of the dye bath, but calcium carbonate will also produce perfectly good results.
Weigh out the appropriate weight-of-fabric (WOF) of Wild Madder Extract powder. Use 1% for pink, 2.5% for a light red, or 4-5% for a medium to dark red. Add the powder to the dye bath and mix well until fully dissolved.
Add your wetted, alum-mordanted wool to the dye bath.
Let the wool sit in the dye bath for 10 minutes before turning on the heat. Stir it once or twice. This will give the dye time to penetrate the fibers evenly, leading to a more level dye job.
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 to cool until safe enough to handle.
When the wool is cool enough to handle safely, remove with tongs 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: Wild Madder Extract may bleed if not thoroughly rinsed.
Hang up to dry out of direct sunlight.
5. Crimson on Silk
Wild Madder Extract produces beautiful crimson reds on silk, using essentially the same method used with wool — the only difference is that silk is dyed at a slightly slower temperature to help preserve its luster. Note that, since madder is a mordant dye, getting very dark reds depends on the silk having absorbed plenty of aluminum from the mordant bath. If dyeing heavy silks or silk yarn you can use 15% alum, but for thin silks like habotai or the 19 momme satin pictured here, you may wish to mordant with as much as 25% alum if aiming for dark shades of crimson.
19 momme silk, 2% WOF
19 momme silk, 5% WOF
19 momme silk, 10% WOF
Fill your dye pot with enough warm water for your fibers to move around freely.
[Optional] Add 1-2 grams of calcium acetate or calcium carbonate per gallon of water in the dye pot. Madder requires calcium in the bath to develop a good red: if there is not enough calcium present, the color will tend toward a dull orange-brown and the dye in the dye bath will stop exhausting onto the fiber. Whether you need to supplement with extra calcium will depend on how hard your water is, but if you have very soft water or you are dyeing very dark shades, you will almost certainly need to add some extra calcium. Calcium acetate is generally preferred here because it is fully soluble, leaves no sediment, and will not raise the pH of the dye bath, but calcium carbonate will also produce perfectly good results.
Weigh out the appropriate weight-of-fabric (WOF) of Wild Madder Extract powder. For heavy silks, use the same proportions suggested for wool. For thinner silks, use 2% for pink, 5% for a light red, or 10% for a full crimson. Add the powder to the dye bath and mix well until fully dissolved.
Add your wetted, alum-mordanted silk to the dye bath.
Let the silk sit in the dye bath for 10 minutes before turning on the heat. Stir it once or twice. This will give the dye time to penetrate the fibers evenly, leading to a more level dye job.
Heat the dyebath to 160°F very gradually, over the course of about 30 minutes, stirring regularly so that the silk dyes evenly. Maintain this heat for 1 hour and continue to stir occasionally. After 1 hour, turn off the heat and allow to cool until safe enough to handle.
When the silk is cool enough to handle safely, remove 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: Wild Madder Extract may bleed if not thoroughly rinsed.
Hang up to dry out of direct sunlight.
6. Crimson on Cotton/Linen
Historically, the main use of madder was to produce various red shades on cotton. Indeed, madder on cotton is the basis for the famous “Turkey red,” a complex color that was achieved by mordanting the fibers with oil and aluminum, dyeing them with madder, and then applying various chemical “clearing” methods to intensify the color (for example, boiling the dyed cotton for several hours in a bath containing tin). A good red shade can be obtained much more simply, by dyeing Wild Madder Extract on cotton or linen that has been treated with a tannin and then mordanted with aluminum. In all cases, make sure to fix the mordant with chalk or another fixing agent before dyeing — madder can be prone to crocking if the mordant is not well fixed on the fiber before it goes into the dye bath.
Oak Gall Light Extract + 1% WOF
Sumac Extract + 2.5% WOF
Oak Gall Light Extract + 5% WOF
Prepare the cotton or linen fibers by mordanting them with Aluminum Acetate, Aluminum Lactate, or Aluminum Formate Pro. See each product page for details. We recommend applying a tannin before mordanting for the darkest colors, and a chalk bath or other fixing bath afterwards to fix the mordant completely — madder can otherwise be prone to rubbing and crocking [see Note 1].
Fill your dye pot with enough warm water for your fibers to move around freely.
[Optional] Add 1 gram of calcium acetate per gallon of water in the dye pot. Madder requires some calcium in the bath to develop a good color. If you are working with cotton or linen that was fixed in a chalk bath, the oddds of needing to add additional calcium are extremely slim. However, if for some reason the color in the bath remains yellowish or orangeish and never develops into a red, lack of calcium is the likely culprit.
Weigh out the appropriate weight-of-fabric (WOF) of Wild Madder Extract powder. Use 1% for pink, 2.5% for a light red, or 5% for a medium to dark red (although note that the final color will depend very much on how the fibers were mordanted). Add the powder to the dye bath and mix well. Make sure the powder is completely dissolved before adding the fibers, otherwise undissolved particles may result in red speckles.
Add your wetted, alum-mordanted fibers to the dye bath.
Heat the dyebath to between 180°F and 190°F very gradually, over the course of about 30 minutes, stirring regularly so that the fibers dye evenly. Maintain this heat for 1.5 hours and continue to stir occasionally. After 1.5 hours, turn off the heat and allow to cool until the fibers can safely be handled.
When the fibers are cool enough to handle safely, remove with tongs 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: Wild Madder Extract may bleed if not thoroughly rinsed.
Hang up to dry out of direct sunlight.
NOTE 1. Different combinations of tannin and mordant will tend to produce slightly different hues of red, as can be seen on the swatches above. For example, Oak Gall Light Extract + Aluminum Acetate can produce some very dark and opaque reds, whereas Sumac Extract + Aluminum Formate Pro tends produce lighter but sometimes more vibrant hues. There is no single best combination to use; each one will have its own strengths.
7. Purple on Woolens
Like many natural red dyes, Wild Madder Extract shifts toward purple in the presence of iron. Depending on the amount of dye used, this combination can produce anywhere from a soft mauve to a dark midnight purple. It is important to use plenty of cream of tartar when mordanting the wool in order to get the clearest purples and to prevent any brown undertone from developing. Several historical dye manuals simultaneously praise this recipe, and complain about how expensive it is to dye because of the large amount of cream of tartar required. This is another color with excellent fastness to light, and it can work as a lightfast alternative to a logwood purple.
Wool yarn, 1% WOF
Wool yarn, 2.5% WOF
Wool yarn, 5% WOF
Prepare the woolen fibers by pre-mordanting them iron. Follow the directions for mordanting wool in Section 4, but instead of using 10% alum, use 8% iron (ferrous sulfate) and 20% cream of tartar. The mordanting process is otherwise exactly the same.
Fill your dye pot with enough warm water for your fibers to move around freely.
[Optional] Add 1-2 grams of calcium acetate or calcium carbonate per gallon of water in the dye pot. Madder requires calcium in the bath to develop a good color: if there is not enough calcium present, the color will tend toward a dull or brown shade and the dye in the dye bath will stop exhausting onto the fiber. Whether you need to supplement with extra calcium will depend on how hard your water is, but if you have very soft water or you are dyeing very dark shades, you will almost certainly need to add some extra calcium. Calcium acetate is generally preferred here because it is fully soluble, leaves no sediment, and will not raise the pH of the dye bath, but calcium carbonate will also produce perfectly good results.
Weigh out the appropriate weight-of-fabric (WOF) of Wild Madder Extract powder. Use 1% for a lavender shade, 2.5% for a royal purple, or 5% for a very dark midnight purple. 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 to cool to room temperature.
When the wool is cool enough to handle safely, remove with tongs and rinse well in warm water until the water runs clear. Soap or detergent should not be necessary, because the color in the dye bath should have mostly exhausted onto the wool. However, if necessary, wash with a pH-neutral detergent like Synthrapol. Follow the manufacturer’s directions for best results. CAUTION: Wild Madder Extract may bleed if not thoroughly rinsed.
Hang up to dry out of direct sunlight.
9. Tangerine on Woolens
Tin mordant (stannous chloride) will shift the color of Wild Madder Extract toward an intense and almost neon orange shade. The hue of the orange will be redder in a more alkaline bath or with an excess of calcium, and yellower in an acidic bath or if the amount of calcium is limited. This particular recipe is adapted from John Hummel’s “The Dyeing of Textile Fabrics,'“ published in 1885. Note that Wild Madder Extract has such a strong attraction to tin-mordanted wool that the color will begin to fix on the fibers almost the moment they enter the dye bath. To get a level (even) dye job, it is important to let the wool sit in the cool or lukewarm bath for some time before turning on the heat. Otherwise, all the color may exhaust before it has had a chance to evenly distribute throughout the wool.
Wool yarn, 0.25% WOF
Wool yarn, 1% WOF
Wool yarn, 3% WOF
Prepare the fibers by pre-mordanting them with tin instead of alum. Follow the directions for mordanting wool in Section 4, but instead of using alum, use tin (stannous chloride) and cream of tartar. For light and medium shades of orange, use 3% tin and 3% cream of tartar. For dark shades of orange, use 5% tin and 5% cream of tartar. The mordanting process remains exactly the same, although see Note 1 about safety precautions when using stannous chloride.
Fill your dye pot with enough lukewarm water for your fibers to move around freely.
[Optional] Add 1 gram of calcium acetate or calcium carbonate per gallon of water in the dye pot. Only a modest amount of calcium is required to dye oranges with Wild Madder Extract, so you may not need to add any supplemental calcium. However, the amount of calcium in the bath can shift the hue; less calcium will yield a yellower shade of orange, and more calcium will yield a redder orange.
Weigh out the appropriate weight-of-fabric (WOF) of Wild Madder Extract powder. Use 0.25% for an orange creme shade, 1% for a tangerine orange, or 3% for a dark orange. Add the powder to the dye bath and mix well until any clumps are dissolved.
Add your wetted, tin-mordanted wool to the dye bath.
Let the fibers sit in the dye bath for 15 minutes without turning on the heat, stirring occasionally. This will give the dye an opportunity to penetrate the woolen fibers evenly, leading to a more level dye job.
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 to cool to room temperature.
When the wool is cool enough to handle safely, remove with tongs and rinse well in warm water until the water runs clear. Soap or detergent should not be necessary, because the color in the dye bath should have mostly exhausted onto the wool. However, if necessary, wash with a pH-neutral detergent like Synthrapol. Follow the manufacturer’s directions for best results. CAUTION: Wild Madder Extract may bleed if not thoroughly rinsed.
Hang up to dry out of direct sunlight.
NOTE 1. Tin mordant (stannous chloride powder) is hazardous and should be handled with care. The powder can cause chemical burns if it comes into contact with the eyes or mucous membranes. Before following this recipe, be sure to read your manufacturer’s SDS for stannous chloride, and observe all recommended safety precautions. Wear gloves, a mask, and eye protection whenever working with stannous chloride powder, and store the powder and the mordant bath out of reach of children and pets. 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.