Name: Jane

Region: Maryland, USA
Message: Hi! I am trying to reproduce the black bombazine worn by mourners in the 19th century. I have found a silk-wool twill blend. I have done the research to know that logwood was used with either copperas and blue vitrol or logwood blue vitrol and sugar of lead. Needless to say I'm concerned about the toxicity of these combinations. Can you recommend a combination of mordant and logwood that would simulate the logwood-blue vitriol hue? I.E. logwod, iron and something else-perhaps something modern? I want it colorfast and historically accurate but don't want to die doing this. Any help would be appreciated.  I'm likely to dye 1 to 2 yards of fabric at a time. Thanks.

While copper sulfate (blue vitriol) and iron sulfate (copperas) can be fatal if swallowed, they can be used safely by following normal safety procedures, and not using or storing them around children. "Blue vitriol" sounds horribly dangerous, but, in fact, if you wear gloves, wear a face mask while measuring out powders until they are dissolved in water, use reasonably good ventilation, use a dedicated dyepot for dyeing instead of reusing it for food, and don't spill it without cleaning it up, it should be quite safe. These are rules that should always be followed with any dyeing, anyway. Aurora Silks says that you don't even have to wear gloves to work safely with iron sulfate, though they recommend you do so as a habit.

I do recommend against using chrome as a mordant, because potassium dichromate is very toxic and a known human carcinogen; it's better to stick to the other mordants, using them with care. Lead sulfate (sugar of lead) is also a probable human carcinogen, and a known cause of brain damage, hypertension, and chronic kidney disease. Lead sulfate is not required for textile dyeing, judging from its rarity in recipes for natural dyeing, though it is surprisingly popular for use in progressive hair dyes that you can actually buy at your local pharmacy. I personally much prefer the idea of using copper sulfate and iron sulfate, as mordants for textile dyeing, and would recommend you seek out a recipe that uses them instead of lead or chrome. 

Jim Liles's book, The Art and Craft of Natural Dyeing, has a recipe for Common Black for Wool (p. 192), which calls for copper sulfate (blue vitriol), iron sulfate (copperas), logwood, and fustic.  This would be a good bet for you to use for this project. There is a similar recipe for silk.

Jim Liles's book also has a recipe for black on silk and wool that uses walnut on top of deep indigo, at the beginning of the chapter on natural black dyes. Do you feel up for trying an indigo vat? It's more challenging for  beginning dyer, but indigo has the advantage of not requiring any mordants at all, and of course it makes beautiful blues. To make it easier, you can start with instant indigo. This would have to be a two-step process, since indigo must be applied separately from any other dye, and indigo should be applied first, so that the reducing chemicals used with the indigo to keep it soluble do not bleach out the other dyes. It's important not to make the indigo vat too strong, as this will deposit dye on the outside of the fibers, so that it will crock (rub off) when dry; instead, use the recommended strength of indigo, and dip repeatedly, to get a dark blue. Liles recommends you use iron with oxalic acid to mordant the walnut.

For all non-historical uses, I prefer safer, more economical, easier-to-use modern dyes that don't require any mordants at all. For dyeing silk and wool, I recommend Lanaset Jet Black or Washfast Acid Jet Black, both of which contain a little chromium but only in the safer hexavalent form, so they are completely safe when used according to the instructions, and both of which are so astonishingly washfast, unlike most acid dyes, that they can be washed even in hot water without fading. There is something very satisfying about the idea of historically correct natural dyes, however, and success with natural dyeing is certainly more impressive than success with modern dyes, since the traditional dyes are more of a challenge to use correctly.

(Please help support this web site. Thank you.)