Organic Marigold Extract

Marigold flowers shine and glow with a heart-expandin, joyous radiance. Restoring the bodies' physical boundaries, while illuminating one's sense of self.

Where other herbs offer to move stagnation, marigold shines a bright light guiding us back to our natural state of vitality.

Colours:
Strong, vibrant yellows, green-yellows and oranges

Ingredients:

A mixture of GOTS certified organic Marigold (Tagetes erecta) + organic Tesu (Butea Frondosa) + organic Kamala flower (Mallotus philippinensis) extracts.
Dried and ground flower heads of all three species.

Herbal and traditional uses:

The Romans and Greeks used the marigold in many rituals and ceremonies, sometimes wearing crowns or garlands made from the flowers. One of its nicknames is "Mary's Gold," referring to the flowers' use in early Catholic events in some countries. Marigold flowers are sacred flowers in India and have been used to decorate the statues of Hindu deities since early times. In Mexico they are used as to line and illuminate pathways to guide spirits home during the Dia de los Muertos.

Medicinally, its antioxidant and anti-microbial qualities are used for healing wounds. The flowers are a rich source of lutein, a carotenoid pigment, which is known to improve eye health.

Marigold ointments are used to soothe skin irritations such as eczema and psoriasis, cooling inflamed sensations, and as a tea, to calm fragmented nerves.

It has been used traditionally as a culinary and medicinal herb, with edible petals which beautify salads and dried are used to colour cooked foods, as well as cosmetics.

In permaculture gardening it is not only a beautiful decorative plant, but also a companion plant, to improve the wellness of neighbouring plants.
Planted by gardeners for protective borders around vegetable patches - to keep away pests and bugs.

Recipe:

10% WOF - Light yellow
20% WOF - Medium Yellow
30% WOF - Deep yellow

Put the required amount of powder in a bowl, add a few drops of water to make a paste and smooth out any lumps, before adding a few tea spoonfuls of water, to make an ink.
To make a dye, add enough water to create the space required for your fibres to move around freely in.
Bring to a simmer and keep at 82 celsius for 30 mins. Strain using a sieve and cheesecloth. Add pre-wetted fibres and simmer for 60 mins or until desired depth of colour achieved.

Refer to my Botanical Dyes book for further info on mordanting and dyeing instructions for cellulose and protein fibres.

Fastness:

Very good fastness to sunlight, good fastness to rubbing and washing.
Some studies have shown that marigold has better dyeing performance in fastness to washing, perspiration and rubbing than some synthetically dyed fabrics.

Mordants/Modifiers:

Alum brightens yellows on animal fibres and gives orangey yellows on plant fibres.
3% Iron powder added to pot produces olive greens.
Over-dye with indigo to create warm leaf greens.
A tiny measure of an alkaline such as soda ash will shift yellows to more orangey shades.

Ph sensitivity:

Sensitive to ph levels.
Alkalines shift to more orangey colours.

Transport:

Air courier from India to UK
Shipped from Botanical Inks in Bristol via Royal Mail

Packaging:

Packaged in a 100% compostable zip lock paper pouch and put inside a biodegradable corn starch mailer bag - safe for health and environment.