pootled over to the
Maiwa pages today and discovered a post about the scouring of cloth before dyeing.
Maiwa are very firm about the need for this.
folks who have wandered with me will know that i don't bother with this process
unless
i am dealing with greasy wool straight from the sheep
or
i cannot resist something silken from a thrift store
but
can tell [using my nose and fingertips] that some clot has permitted the garment to be maltreated by a "dry cleaner"
[i use the wiggly bits because the process is not dry at all, it involves having your precious garment sloshed about in a vat full of petrochemicals along with filthy garments belonging to complete strangers who have been doing goodness-only-knows-what in them ... eeeww]
here's why...
if we look at the Japanese system for mordanting cotton ie soaking in soy solution then alternate dips in soy and ash, drying each time so as to build up layers
then
having a layer of starch on new cloth [they apply it so the fabric will look good in the store]as a beginning could be an advantage.
at least i think so.
and if it's so strongly attached to the cloth that you have to boil it off with dangerously strong chemical assistants then you might as well leave it there.
if you're using thrift store cotton/linen/hemp then every wash that the garment has been through in its life will have helped to build up a mordant layer on the surface [very few washing aids do not contain sodium carbonate aka washing soda, an excellent mordant for yellows...]
and for bundle dyeing aka ecoprint [my preferred method] it doesn't matter...dye is forced into the cloth directly from the plant matter by steam and seems to bond firmly anyway
except of course if things have been drycleaned
in which case a good hot wash with dishwashing detergent is quite helpful
i don't understand why folks have their clothes chemically cleaned anyway. silk and wool can be handwashed. no problem.
treat silk the way you would treat your hair [teaspoon of vinegar in the rinsing water works the same way as conditioner...they just make conditioner gluggy so it won't run out of your hand in the shower]
and as long as you don't vary the temperature of your wash/rinse water by m ore than 5 degrees C or 9 degrees F or jiggle it about too much you shouldn't have any problems either.
here endeth the lesson
and
have a nice day.
