I’ve been curious about mordanting with blood ever since I read India Flint’s passing reference to it in Second Skin. I’m not a squeamish person and I have ready access to a cruelty-free form of blood each month with my menstrual cycle, so I thought I would give it a go. I wondered if it would give similar results to other protein mordants, or whether the particular properties of blood would effect the results.
To prepare the fabric, I simply soaked it for about an hour in the water I had soaked my cloth pads in. Then I lay it flat to dry and let it set for about a week before eco-printing.
The mordant definitely worked, although the prints were fairly light. Next time I would try to use more blood and soak the fabric for longer to create a stronger mordant. I might also try a series of ‘dipping and drying’ as is done with soy mordants, and see if this gives more vibrant results.
So I noticed your fabric post-soak looks fairly white rather than blood stained. Is that because the pad water didn’t have a very saturated color or did you rinse it afterwards?
(Interesting post and thanks for giving me an opportunity to use the phrase “pad water” in a sentence 😂)
I am very glad to give you that opportunity! I think that the fabric was more coloured after I had just soaked and then dried it, and the background went lighter after eco-printing and washing it. But you are right that the pad water also wasn’t very strong. It would definitely be interesting to try with less watered down blood and to see what the background colour looked like then.
Hi! I want to try to use menstrual blood to dye white-ish clothes that have or removable stains (to mask the stains). Do you think this would work? If I use enough blood? And would there be a metallic smell?
Crazy that I’m considering this but I also think it’s really cool lol
Hello, I think you could definitely try it and see what happens. I imagine you would need a lot of blood to get anything other than pale results, and in that case you might find it is a bit smelly. But if the clothes are already stained, there is no harm in trying.
Hi
I also want to use menstrual blood for dying wool yarn for an art work. Would there be a mordant that will help the woolfibers to open up better to the colour of the blood?
Or a fixative afterwards?
I’m not to sure sorry. I suggest experimenting with preparing wool a few different ways, to see which takes up the most colour, and then doing wash and lightfastness tests.
Hi,
I think this is a wonderful idea. I bought a diva cup to trap as much of the blood as possible to dye some yarn for art. Thank you so much for this post and showing people how normal this actually is/can be. I went on chat gpt to ask how to do this to get that red. Here’s what it says:
Alum Mordant for Brighter Reds
This method helps keep the blood stain as red as possible.
Ingredients:
• 2 tbsp alum (potassium aluminum sulfate)
• 1 tbsp cream of tartar (optional, helps even absorption)
• 1 gallon warm water
Process:
1. Dissolve alum and cream of tartar in warm water.
2. Soak fabric in the solution for 1–2 hours, stirring occasionally.
3. Remove, wring out excess liquid, and apply fresh blood immediately while fabric is damp.
4. Let it soak overnight in the blood, then dry completely before rinsing lightly.
Iron Mordant for Darker, Deeper Reds
Iron will deepen the color, sometimes shifting it toward brownish-red.
Ingredients:
• 1 tbsp ferrous sulfate (iron sulfate)
• 1 gallon warm water
Process:
1. Dissolve iron sulfate in warm water.
2. Soak fabric in the solution for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
3. Remove and apply blood while the fabric is still damp.
4. Allow to dry fully before rinsing lightly with cool water.
⚠️ Warning: Iron can make fabric brittle over time, so avoid overuse.
Tannin Pretreatment (For Protein Binding & Longevity)
Tannins help blood bind to fabric more effectively.
Ingredients:
• 2 cups strong black tea or oak gall extract
• 1 gallon warm water
Process:
1. Soak fabric in the tannin bath for 1–2 hours.
2. Wring out excess and immediately apply blood while damp.
3. Let it dry, then do an optional alum or iron mordant bath for extra fixation.
Salt & Vinegar Fixative (Post-Dye Treatment)
This helps set the stain after applying blood.
Ingredients:
• 1/2 cup salt
• 1 cup vinegar
• 1 gallon cold water
Process:
1. After the blood has dried, soak the fabric in this fixative bath for 1–2 hours.
2. Rinse with cool water and air-dry out of direct sunlight.
Extra Tips:
• Layering Blood Applications: Apply multiple layers of blood, letting each dry completely before adding more, to build a richer stain.
• Avoid Overwashing
Interesting, thanks for sharing!