Earth pigments are minerals mined all over the world for their colors. Since they come from the Earth’s surface, they are not actually classified as dyes. Dyes create color when a substance makes a molecular bond with fiber and chemically attaches together. Earth pigments cannot penetrate and bond molecularly with fiber by itself; it has to be suspended in another medium that joins with the fiber. In this case, we are using fresh soymilk! The protein in the soymilk is what binds the earth pigment and the fiber together.
You have several options to make your own fabric paint. You can buy the ready made Natural Acrylik Paint for permanent fabric painting, you can follow this recipe to make a permanent fabric paint with our Natural Acrylic Medium, or you can mix your own earth pigment solution with the recipe below.
What you need:
Put ¼ cup of dry soybeans in a jar and cover with a good amount of water. Let them sit over night, then on the next day rinse off the soaking water.
Add the soybeans and three cups of warm water to a blender and run on medium for four minutes. Strain the blended liquid through the muslin – keep the liquid. Scoop the soybean residue off the muslin, and put it back into the blender.
Add two cups of warm water, and again run the blender on medium for four minutes. Using the same process, strain the liquid through the muslin, saving the strained liquid – but this time toss the soybean residue, wash your muslin cloth and hang it to dry. Now thin out your fresh soymilk solution by adding more water until it looks the color of “skim milk.”
Completely soak your fabric in the soymilk, making sure the whole piece is fully wet! Then allow the fabric to air dry completely. Do not blow dry or heat the fabric in a dryer. Keep the remaining soymilk in the fridge so it doesn’t go bad! And don’t wait longer than two weeks to use the soymilk treated fabric.
What you need:
Combine 1 teaspoon of the powdered earth pigment or indigo with 1 tablespoon of soymilk.
Slowly mix/grind together until the pigment is fully wet and combined with the soymilk! (If it’s really necessary, you can add more soymilk but only enough to wet the pigment.) It's important you REALLY mix/grind the powder!
To thicken, use gum tragacanth or organic printing gum – but only adding very little at a time. Just 1 tablespoon can make it too thick. If this happens to you it’s ok, just add more soymilk until you get the right consistency.
Store the pigment paint in the fridge until you are ready to use it, but you need to apply your pigment paint within a few days of applying the soymilk.
What you need:
Now for the fun part you’ve been waiting for – painting!
You can freehand your design or draw it, but either way be sure you secure the fabric from moving around when you paint.
If you want to leave a certain part of the design unpainted, you can use Nori paste or even Elmer’s washable school glue (blue is best so you can see where you applied it), to create a resist to wash out later.
And the painting begins!
After you’ve applied all the color, let your fabric hang to dry completely! You should allow your fabric to air cure for two days or up to a month.
Finally, wash your fabric out with a fabric detergent or synthrapol.
**Some suggest steaming your fabric before washing it to help preserve the color.
Other tips & tricks:
No matter what, you will end up with beautifully colored fabric!
These tips & tricks are based on the instructions from natural dyer, Donna Brown.