Wild Colours - Exciting colours from Natural Dyes
1. Strong reaction to tannin: Titanium oxalate will give you orange shades with tannins (e.g. gallnut extract) and yellow dyes (e.g. weld extract). This is of particular interest to dyers who do botanical prints. Leaves which are full of tannin will come out more orange/yellow than if alum or aluminium acetate was used.
2. Different shades: titanium oxalate will provide different shades with other natural dyes (madder, cochineal, logwood etc), which makes it a great mordant for experimenting.
3. Increased light fastness: titanium is a little more light fast than alum. On a scale of 1 to 8, where 1 is not fast and 8 is very fast, titanium increases the fastness by ½ a degree.
4. Matt colours: titanium oxalate may provide more matt colours, while the alum may provide brighter colours.
Using titanium as a pre-mordant will give you attractive peachy tones
- 100 grams of fibre
- 5 to 15 grams of titanium oxalate
1. Dissolve the titanium oxalate in a small container with warm water.
2. Add it to a saucepan with water and then add your fibres.
3. Heat slowly up to 80-90°C for 45 min while regularly stirring the fibre.
4. Let the fibres cool in the saucepan.
5. Rinse once or twice at room temperature.
You can thicken a concentrated solution of titanium oxalate with gum tragacanth and use this to print on small areas of fabric. If you then dye the fabric with weld or another dye high in tannin, you will get orange tones.
Titanium oxalate can also be used for as a mordant for protein fibers (silk and wool). Mordant with the titanium oxalate first and then dye with the natural dye extract. Use the same proportions as for cotton, 5 to 15 grams of titanium oxalate per 100 grams of fibre.
Go to
How to scour cotton
How to mordant cotton
Mordanting with aluminium acetate
UK Shipping £4.95p on orders up to £100 & free over £100 in UK
[shipping £2.95 on very small orders up to £2.95 in value]
Delivery to Europe + rest of World click here
Overseas orders sent by Tracked Airmail
Special & Next Day Delivery
Updated on 22 April 2024
Website & photos by Mike Roberts ©2006-24 Wild Colours natural dyes