Griffin Dyeworks & Fiber Arts

Understanding Mordants and Modifiers

Hide Glue

HIDE GLUE

Description: Strong gelatinous glue made from boiling down animal hides, the finest being rabbit skins. Used mainly to thicken paints and glue woodwork together. Hide glue is useful to dyers for buffeting delicate dyed fibers after being in alkaline dyebaths. The hide glue neutralizes the alkali without adding an acid.
Other Names: Rabbit hide glue, Hide glue pellets, Hide glue plates
Dye Use: Added to indigo vats to protect wool and silk fiber from the alkaline dyebath.
Best On: Wool, silk
Dye Recipe: 1 tsp in 1 gal water indigo vat; add more glue for larger vats.
Safety: Animal origin; used in some old medications
Disposal: Dilute 10 to 1 and pour down sink or toilet
Alternative: Collagen glue, Technical gelatin, Powdered gelatin, Sturgeon glue (Isinglass)
Source: Griffin Dyeworks

CODES: c = cup; gal = gallon; lb = pound (weight); tbsp = Tablespoon; tsp = teaspoon / [AF] Anglo-French; [Ar] Arabic; [AS] Anglo-Saxon; [Dan] Danish; [Du] Dutch; [Fr] French; [Ger] German; [Gk] Greek; [It] Italian; [L] Classical Latin; [LL] Late Latin; [ME] Middle English; [ML] Modern Latin; [OE] Old English; [OF] Old French; [ON] Old Norse; [OS] Old Saxon; [Port] Portuguese; [Sp] Spanish; [Sw] Swedish / CE = Common Era; BCE = Before Common Era

left arrow Back to Understanding Mordants and Modifiers | left arrow Previous: Glauber's Salt | Next: Iron right arrow