Scour

How to Scour Cotton Cloth

Scouring Fabric

Kimberly Baxter Packwood © 2001

When working with any mordant or dye powder always wear a respirator with fresh filters.

NOTE: Any dyeing equipment used in natural dyeing, should never ever be used or reused for the preparation, storage or cooking of food or beverages.

What Scouring Does:

Scouring fabric is easy and will ensure excellent dye uptake every time.

Scouring is a two step process, both steps must be followed if you wish to acquire the greatest depth of color.

Scouring fabric removes the grease, dust, dirt and grime that fabrics encountered during the manufacturing process and transit.

How to Scour Your Fabric:

Simply wash your fabric, this includes PFD fabric, in the washing machine in hot water with Soda Ash. Do not add any fabric softeners to the wash. If you must dry your fabric do so without any fabric softener sheets
NOTE: Fabric softeners interfere with both natural and synthetic dye uptake.
Using an large enamel or stainless steel pot, fill the pot at least half full and place one ounce of soda ash into the pot per pound of cotton or linen fabric/fiber.
Place fabric into water, swish it around using a stainless steel spoon.

Bring water to a boil!!!

Adjust heat to a low boil/hard simmer and allow to boil for two hours. stir the fabric every 15 minutes or so t make sure that the fabric is being adequately scoured

After two hours remove from heat source, allow fabric to cool down until the fabric is at room temperature.

Remove the fabric from the water and rinse.

NOTE: If the water is brown or grey replace the water & soda ash mixture with fresh water and soda ash and re-scour the fabric, it is not clean yet. repeat this process until the fabric rinses clean and the scour water is only mildly dirty.

Your fabric is now ready to be Mordanted & Dyed!

Scouring PFD Cotton Fabric

Once again it is time to point out the importance of proper fabric preparation when dyeing with natural dyes. I don't say this to be rude but rather to save you much time and effort when dyeing cotton with natural dyes.

Q. Do I have to scour my PFD, Prepared for Dyeing, Fabrics?

A. YES you must scour PFD fabric before mordnating and dyeing with natural dyes, I go as far as even washing BEFORE I scour my fabric to ensure that the dressing oils, all fabrics receive these it's to keep the dust down when the fabric is rolled onto bolts, tubes, etc.. I have scouring instructions on my website and video on youtube. The scouring process is so very important with cellulosic fibers as it helps to force the fibers open before the mordanting and dyeing steps. Scouring ensures that your fabric will hold maximum natural dye molecules and helps to achieve truer colors.

Q. is your water hard or treated? Water quality is very important regarding the final dye color out come. Hard water tends to supress most dye molecules (exception is weld it becomes more intense).

Q. Which plants do you plan to dye with? Some plants do not yield permanent color so it is important to know this before you start a project, as depending on your plans for the fabric you may not be able to over dye at a later date if your colors fade.

NOTE: Also cotton fabrics don't take certain natural dye colors no matter what you do to the fabric but silk and wool fabrics will suck the color up like no tomorrow.

Why Should I Scour PFD Cotton Fabric

Once again it is time to point out the importance of proper fabric preparation when dyeing with natural dyes. I don't say this to be rude but rather to save you much time, effort, and disappointment when dyeing cotton with natural dyes.

Q. Do I have to scour my PFD, Prepared for Dyeing, Fabrics?

A. YES you must scour PFD fabric before mordnating and dyeing with natural dyes, I go as far as even washing BEFORE I scour my fabric to ensure that the dressing oils, all fabrics receive these it's to keep the dust down when the fabric is rolled onto bolts, tubes, etc.. I have scouring instructions on my website and video on youtube. The scouring process is so very important with cellulosic fibers as it helps to force the fibers open before the mordanting and dyeing steps. Scouring ensures that your fabric will hold maximum natural dye molecules and helps to achieve truer colors.

Q. is your water hard or treated? Water quality is very important regarding the final dye color out come. Hard water tends to supress most dye molecules (exception is weld it becomes more intense).

Q. Which plants do you plan to dye with? Some plants do not yield permanent color so it is important to know this before you start a project, as depending on your plans for the fabric you may not be able to over dye at a later date if your colors fade.

NOTE: Also cotton fabrics don't take certain natural dye colors no matter what you do to the fabric but silk and wool fabrics will suck the color up like no tomorrow.

Scouring PFD Fabrics

Once again it is time to point out the importance of proper fabric preparation when dyeing with natural dyes. I don't say this to be rude but rather to save you much time and effort when dyeing cotton with natural dyes.

Q. Do I have to scour my PFD, Prepared for Dyeing, Fabrics?

A. YES you must scour PFD fabric before mordnating and dyeing with natural dyes, I go as far as even washing BEFORE I scour my fabric to ensure that the dressing oils, all fabrics receive these it's to keep the dust down when the fabric is rolled onto bolts, tubes, etc.. I have scouring instructions on my website and video on youtube. The scouring process is so very important with cellulosic fibers as it helps to force the fibers open before the mordanting and dyeing steps. Scouring ensures that your fabric will hold maximum natural dye molecules and helps to achieve truer colors.

Q. is your water hard or treated? Water quality is very important regarding the final dye color out come. Hard water tends to supress most dye molecules (exception is weld it becomes more intense).

Q. Which plants do you plan to dye with? Some plants do not yield permanent color so it is important to know this before you start a project, as depending on your plans for the fabric you may not be able to over dye at a later date if your colors fade.

NOTE: Also cotton fabrics don't take certain natural dye colors no matter what you do to the fabric but silk and wool fabrics will suck the color up like no tomorrow.