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Naturally Dyed Textiles for Mindful Living

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Care instructions


Natural Dyeing (Botanical & Indigo) {#naturfaerbung}

Natural dyes are alive. They come from plants, flowers, and minerals—and they behave differently than synthetic pigments. With the right care, your pieces will remain beautiful, the colors intense, and the fibers intact.

For your Atelier piece

All raw pieces at the Cosmaki Atelier are pre-mordanted by us and treated with metal salts so that the natural dyes adhere optimally and last a long time. You are working from the start with a ready-to-dye piece, without having to worry about the preparation.

After dyeing, we take care of rinsing, fixing, and ironing. Nevertheless, some color may come off during the first wash at home; this is normal for natural dyes and not a quality defect. Wash it separately for the first time, cold and on a delicate cycle or by hand.

Thereafter, the general care instructions below apply.

If you finish your piece yourself

For some formats, you will handle the post-treatment yourself. Depending on the technique, the following applies:

Botanical Dyeing: Your bundle is opened at our studio and provided in a bag while still damp. Take the piece out of the bag at home and let it dry completely, preferably hung up. Only when it is bone dry should you tap or rub off the plant residues, rather than washing them out. The longer you let the piece "cure" afterwards, the better the color will set—at least a few days, preferably even two weeks. Afterwards, iron it with a cloth in between; this additionally fixes the flower and seed imprints. Only wash afterwards, separately, cold, and by hand or on a delicate cycle.

Indigo Dyeing: After oxidizing, rinse the freshly indigo-dyed piece in water with vinegar or citric acid; this neutralizes the residual lye from the vat. Only wash it out normally after that. Always wash it alone for the first few times, as indigo slightly rubs off onto other textiles initially.

Washing

Wash naturally dyed textiles at 30°C; this is gentle on the colors and completely sufficient for thorough cleaning. Use mild, eco-friendly detergents without bleach or fabric softeners. Both attack the fibers and cause natural dyes to fade faster.

Select a low spin speed and prefer full wash loads; this saves water and is gentle on the material.

Indigo dyeing: a special case
Indigo binds differently to the fiber than plant dyes from bundle dyeing. Slight color transfer (crocking) upon friction, especially in the first few weeks, is part of the material and not a defect. Wash indigo-dyed pieces separately from light-colored textiles and turn them inside out for washing. The increasingly lighter, iridescent patina over time is intentional, not wear and tear.

Drying

Best dried in the shade in the open air. Direct sunlight bleaches natural dyes, especially in the first few weeks after dyeing. If you use a dryer, only use a low temperature. Pull the piece into shape while still slightly damp before it dries completely.

General Instructions

Airing out extends the time between washes and thus protects the color, fibers, and the environment. The less often you wash, the longer the color intensity is preserved.

Avoid aggressive detergents, bleach-based stain removers, and hot water. Natural dyes are sensitive to strong chemicals.


 

Cyanotype {#cyanotypie}

Cyanotype is not a dyeing process, but a photochemical printing technique. The characteristic blue is created by UV light, not by pigments from plants or minerals. Consequently, care is different.


Washing

Wash cyanotype-printed textiles cold, by hand, or on a delicate cycle with a low spin speed, and turn the piece inside out. This protects the print from friction during washing. Use a mild, phosphate-free, and pH-neutral detergent. Alkaline detergents, bleach, and stain removers decompose the image pigment and cause it to fade or turn yellowish. Wash less often rather than more often; every wash puts some strain on the print.

pH-neutral detergents are difficult to identify in stores; you are most likely to find them among wool detergents, which are almost always pH-neutral and mild enough. For example, products like "Feines & Wolle" are suitable as a guide.


Drying
Dry in the shade in the open air, not in the dryer. The blue deepens on its own in the first 24 hours after rinsing, so the final result only appears the following day.

Ironing
If necessary, iron with a pressing cloth and a dry iron—do not use steam. Ironing directly on the print can damage the image.

General Instructions
Hard water and lime-rich environments can attack the blue over time; this is relevant with Cologne tap water. Store the piece in a relatively cool place not permanently exposed to sunlight if you want to preserve the depth of the blue for as long as possible.

Why naturally dyed textiles?

Naturally dyed textiles are free of synthetic pigments—gentler on the skin, kinder to the environment. The colors are created by plants, flowers, bark, and minerals that have been used for dyeing for centuries. Every piece carries this history within it.