Scouring” is the textile term for washing or cleaning fibers prior to mordanting and dyeing. It is important to scour your fabric if you want to achieve good dye results

“Scouring” is the textile term for washing or cleaning fibers prior to mordanting and dyeing. It is important to scour your fabric if you want to achieve good dyeing. Fabrics that are not scoured correctly do not get good dyeing results. Scouring helps assure even color and good penetration of the dyes.

Most fabric has some type of coating or wax on it. This can come from nature or from the manufacturing process. It is important to remove all of these coating from your fabric before dying. Even if your fabric is brand new from the fabric store, you will still want to wash it in hot water or Scour it. Even products that are sold as Ready for Dyeing (RFD) or Prepared for Dyeing (PFD) often need a light scour prior to use. 

Supplies needed : 

Large Pot
Soda Ash and Neutral Soap (Synthrapol or Blue Dawn) for cotton.
Orvus Paste  (for silk and wool) I also use Mane & Tale Shampoo

Scouring Process for cellulose fiber:

1.      Weigh your goods. Note the weight - write it down. This is your Weight of Goods, otherwise known as the WOG. This weight will be needed in later steps

2.      Fill up the scour pot with water. Leave a lot of room in the pot you’re using. You want plenty of room for your fabric to move around

3.      Figure out weight of soda ash. use a solution of 1-2% WOF Soda Ash.

4.      Dissolve the soda ash in HOT water. Put Hot water into a glass measuring cup and pour in your soda ash - stir up. Always add powders to liquid, not liquids to powders. Pour some boiling water into your cup and stir until soda ash is dissolved. Add this solution to the big pot.

5.      Add synthrapol or Blue Dawn. I usually just squirt the sythrapol in the pot. If you are measuring use a tsp per 500g of cloth. Stir

6.      Enter your fabrics into the pot- as you put them in try to avoid twisting the material. Do not crowd the pot, be sure to leave room for the fabric to move around

7.      Boil - Bring to a boil, use the lid. Once it is up to temperature turn down to a simmer for 1-2 hours. Let cool in liquid. This can take quite a while.

8.      Rinse well. After it is cool enough to touch take out fibers and rinse well in warm water. You might want to use your washing machine for this final rinse.

9.      Repeat process if needed. If the liquid was really yellow or brown-, you may wish to repeat the process again.

Scouring protein fibers:

1.     Weigh your goods. Note the weight - write it down. This is your Weight of Goods, otherwise known as the WOG.

2.     Fill up the scour pot with water. Use a pot large enouh that your fabric can move around without crowding.

3.     Add Orvus paste that has been dissolved in boiling water; the amount of Orvus paste should be 1% of the weight of fiber.

4.     Add fiber and heat on low for approximately 1 hour. Stir gently

5.     Allow Fiber to cool in liquid then rinse in warm water.

USE CAUTION: allowing water to get too hot may degum the silk or cause the wool to felt.