Featured collection

• 

  Quick shop

  CupidFallsFarm

  Lac Extract 2oz

  $13.20

  

  

  

  jEmail us about this product

  v

  CupidFallsFarm

  Lac Extract 2oz

  $13.20

  Quantity

  Lac Extract  –  a red dye extract from the scale insect Laccifer lacca and can found throughout India, south east Asia, Nepal and south China. It is harvested from both wild and cultivated means. The female lac insects invade host trees and secretes a resin that contains the red dye. The resin is harvested and taken off the branches and is known as stick lac. The resin contains both shellac and dye. The dye is extracted from the resin and the remaining shellac is further refined into other products. The colors are similar to cochineal but softer and warmer in appearance.

  • Dye Amount: 5-8% WOF
  • Color: crimsons, burgundy reds and deep purples
  • Light fastness: High
  • Wash fastness: High

  • Mordant
  • Alum mordant at 15% WOF for protein fibers
  • Alum mordant at 8% WOF for cellulose fibers
  • Tannin mordant at 8% WOF and then alum at 15% WOF, or alum acetate at 8% WOF

  • Dyeing: Dissolve extract in water and simmer with fiber for 45-60  minutes. For the richest colors, leave the dye pot to soak over night. Lac dye is very sensitive to change in pH and develops to its fullest color potential with the addition of cream of tartar at 6% WOF. For plum purples, add an alkali such as cream of tarter. For blackened purples, add ferrous sulfate.

  Visit product page →

• 

  Quick shop

  CupidFallsFarm

  Cutch Extract 1oz

  $2.30

  

  jEmail us about this product

  v

  CupidFallsFarm

  Cutch Extract 1oz

  $2.30

  Quantity

  Cutch Extract is produced by soaking the wood of the Acacia Catechu tree in hot water until a syrupy liquid emerges. It is then dries and ground into a fine powder. It ca be found throughout India, Burma, Indonesia and Peru. This extract is easily soluble in water.

  • Dye Amount: 20-50% WOF for a medium depth of shade
  • Color: brown, cinnamon, nutmeg and clove
  • Light fastness: Excellent
  • Wash fastness: Excelent

  • Mordant
  • Alum mordant at 15% WOF for protein fibers
  • Alum mordant at 15% WOF for cellulose fibers
  • Tannin mordant is not required. 

  • Dyeing
  • Dissolve the powdered cutch in boiling water and add it to dye bath.
  • Deeper colors can be achieved by first soaking the cutch extract in a weak mixture of caustic soda.
  • Add 1 tsp lye or sodium hydroxide to 1 gallon of water. Soak for 1 hour.
  • Add more water and neutralize with acetic acid or vinegar to pH7. Add this neutral solution to the dye bath.
  • Add fibers to the dye bath and simmer at low temperature for 2 hours.
  • Cutch does not easily exhaust and dyebaths can be used multiple times for lighter shades.

  • Variations
  • Alum mordant yields toffee browns.
  • The addition of iron at 2-4% WOF yields chocolate browns
  • Soda ash rinse will redden the cutch color.
  • Addition of 2% WOF hydrogen peroxide during the final 15 minutes of dyeing will darken cutch considerably.
  • Allowing the fiber to cool down and sit in the dye bath overnight will give the darkest shades.

  Visit product page →

• 

  Quick shop

  CupidFallsFarm

  Osage Extract 2 oz

  $8.10

  

  jEmail us about this product

  v

  CupidFallsFarm

  Osage Extract 2 oz

  $8.10

  Quantity

  Consists of the wood from the osage-orange tree(Maclura pomifera). Osage contains a yellow dye similar to fustic and black oak and yields clear, true yellows to soft yellow greens. Osage grows throughout the south and central United States. 

  • Dye Amount: 2-5% WOF Extract, 20-30% WOF chips or saw dust
  • Color: True to soft yellows
  • Light fastness: Excellent
  • Wash fastness: Excellent

  • Mordant
  • Alum mordant at 15% WOF for protein fibers
  • Tannin mordant at 8% WOF for cellulose fibers and then alum at 15% WOF, or alum acetate at 8% WOF

  • Dyeing:
  • Chips or saw dust: Cover the chips or saw dust with boiling water and let soak overnight. Remove the chips/dust, add addition water to cover fiber and simmer at around 170 degrees but not more than 180 degrees for an hour. For Rich colors, leave the fibers to soak overnight.
  • Extract: Mix the extract in a small container of hot but not boiling water. Once thoroughly mixed, add to the dye bath and simmer for 45 minutes. For rich colors, allow the dye bath to cool overnight.
  • Color Variations
  • Brightened Yellows: add copper to the dye bath or dye in a copper pot
  • Olive Green: Add 2-4% ferrous sulfate
  • Emerald Green or Leaf green: Over dye or under Dye in indigo

  Visit product page →

• 

  Quick shop

  Sold out

  Cupid Falls Farm

  Japanese Indigo Seeds - 5 grams

  Sold out

  

  jEmail us about this product

  v

  Cupid Falls Farm

  Japanese Indigo Seeds - 5 grams

  $5.00

  Sold out

  Persicaia tinctoria is a species of flowering plant in the buckeye family. Common names include Chinese indigo and Japanese indigo. It is native to eastern Europe and Asia but is well adapted to many parts of the world.

  Japanese indigo is very a very frost tender annual that thrives in fertile soil and warn humid climates but i have had excellent luck growing it in the short seasons of the Appalachian mountains.

  Growing Instructions: Seeds should be started indoors 6 to 8 weeks before the last frost. Once the risk of frost has past, the hardened young plants should be transplanted on approximately 1 foot spacing's. Keep the plants well watered.

  When the plants are approximately 2 feet tall and a bruised leaf turns navy blue, it is ready for the first harvest. Cut the plant several node above the ground and the plant will re-sprout for additional harvests.

  These seeds are harvested from our current year plants. The listing is for 5 grams of seeds which contains 500 to 1000 seeds.

  Visit product page →