Preparing fabric before starting the eco printing process is commonly known as mordanting or pre-treatment.
The goal of this process is to ensure that the fabric is clean and ready to absorb natural pigments from plants without any barriers within the fibers.
Follow these steps:
- Thoroughly wash the fabric using natural soap to remove dust, oils, wax, and other impurities.
- Soak the fabric in a warm alum solution. This can be done up to two times, with each soaking lasting at least one hour. Alum helps open the fabric fibers and remove or settle fine particles through its natural coagulation properties.
- Rinse the fabric thoroughly, then wring it out until it is damp but not dripping wet.
To further enhance the mordanting process, you may also use these optional treatments:
- Before soaking the fabric in the alum solution, soak it in a tannin-rich solution made from tea, jolawe fruit, mango leaves, coconut husk, guava leaves, or other natural tannin sources.
- After the alum treatment, the fabric may be soaked once more in either a clear lime water solution (calcium hydroxide) to produce slightly darker shades, or an iron sulfate (ferrous sulfate) solution to achieve even deeper, darker tones.
- Wring out the fabric until it is damp. It is now ready for the eco printing process.
