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ON Gutenberg.org there are a few books published in the 19th and early 20th centuries dealing with leather tanning. Some get quite scientific. You will find that the principles of tanning really haven't changed all that much over the centuries, mostly the equipment and techniques have been modernised. For example, tumbling drums might have been powered by water mill, men or mules 800 years ago, powered by steam 200 years ago, electricity 100 years ago, but the tumblers are very similar, built of wood 800 years ago, now built of metal. Dyeing was, of course, done with natural dyes like walnut and other vegetable dyes, vinegaroon, perhaps some mineral dyes, or painted with the paints and tints of the time. The paints used on a shield would likely be the same paints used on the scabbard. Dyeing would have been a very expensive option to one buying leather. Don't forget that oiling a piece of leather will darken it quite well, making a dye unnecessary in many cases. Gutenberg has old books on dyeing, as well. 'Dyes and Dyeing' by Viscount Exmouth Charles Pellew has a chapter devoted to leather staining and dyeing. Mentions acid dyeing for different colors.

Hi everyone, I'm planning to make some leather stuff soon and the material I'll be using is un-dyed vegtan leather. Since supply is tricky for me and since I have to be very careful about dye safety as I make horse equipment and it is in contact with skin, I thought to ask this community for any recipes and methods for making natural dyes or stains for leather. Does not matter if they are super strong like commercial ones are, I just want something that can give leather a different color (even if it only darkens it) and something that I can make with relatively accessible materials. Any suggestions welcome, I am very new to the chemical department

@Mablung, thank you for answering! I do want to use undyed veg tan and linen thread for environmental/health/traditional aesthetic reasons, to tool it, and dye it myself with natural dyes. With enough oils and waxing I feel okay about wet and weather. As to weight/stiffness, my current work boots are probably 4 to 5 oz; I think closer to 5, but your comment makes me realize I better get advice pertaining to tools for working with 4oz too because maybe I'll have to move down to that. Eventually lasted shoes, yes...but it will be a long expensive project getting lasts for my size 8 4E spatulate feet with narrrow straight heel and short toes. I'll save that for another post. . For the immediate future, I am hoping I can make things with more support than moccasins, including insole, heavy leather midsole, glued-on rubber outsole, and a maybe a short heel, without the last. Not sure yet. For now while learning the basic skills, the tools I need to buy most carefully are the sewing chisels because good ones are so expensive.

Hello all, I have been using fiebings pro oil dye on all of my dyed projects. I do like the way that it sits in the leather, but I am the type of person that would much rather use a more natural alternative when it comes to most methods. I have heard about using cold black coffee to darken leather, as well as multiple light coats of extra virgin olive oil left out in the sun. I am more keen to these types of methods. I was wondering if anyone knows of, or has had any experience with, making their own plant based leather dyes? I have heard of people using organic material such as: onions blueberries cedar walnut husks alder blackberries elderberries fern fronds etc... I do have access to these items, but I am unsure of the process in which to get the pigment out of the item, as well as applying the dye, and storage. Edit: Do you think this method would work for dying leather? http://pioneerthinking.com/crafts/natural-dyes Thanks! Zayne

Hey everyone, I found a vinegaroon recipe here: https://leatherworker.net/forum/topic/73637-my-guide-to-the-best-vinegaroon-youve-ever-made/#comment-482966 after it was recomended to me as a natural dye. Here is what I did: I bought steel wool for dishwashing from a local store. I had lots of red wine vinegar (6 percent acid). I took a glass jar and put the wool in an then submerged the wool in it. I left it like that for a day and then I tried it on some vegtan leather I had laying around. Nothing happened. I left it for another day and same thing, no blacking. There were bubbles in the solutiob once and I very carefully stirred them away but that was only a few hours after the wool had been sitting there. Now in the recipe it says that the full strenght is reached in twelve hours but mine does nothing after two days. Did I use wrong kind of vinegar or maybe there is something wrong with the wool? Thanks in advance!

I'm new and have been practicing in order to make dog collars and belts etc. I want to use little too no chemical processing. I'm looking to sell my items, when I perfect the methods, and sell as "All natural." I want to dye non colored veg tanned leather with plant and other natural items for finishing.. Does anyone have experience with this and how to do it? Thanks.

I am trying to do a couple of pieces that are as natural/organic ?? as possible. I am not ready to tan leather so I am kind of stuck there. I am sure the process is laden with chemicals. I have made some beautiful natural dyes that I am happy with. I have made small sewn objects and have dipped them in paraffin which makes the pieces nice and stiff and makes the natural dyes look nice and deep. I am using some botanical material and so far have figured out how to not have it crumble after time . So I think the only thing I dont have locked down is the thread. I have been using tandy's waxed thread and the thinner awl thread and have read more about thread on this group than I knew was possible Still .. Now I am curious as to what dye's or processes are used to get the colors into the thread? What are they using to make the thread brown or black. I am considering hemp and trying to dye it myself but I don't know what thickness to use. I have been able to find 1mm and 2mm hemp. Linen and cotton would be fine but all I find are waxed so I wouldn't be able to dye it. I hand sew everything. Any and all help would be appreciated. This project has been a blast. Kitchen is a mess but hey ... sacrifices have to be made. Thanks! Alex

Hello all, I have been googling my rear off and finally decided to ask here: I am interested in making natural dyes at home, in particular I have been asked to make a belt to "match" a pair of shoes for someone in my office. The local expertise is very limited. I have used coffee to get the correct shade but need to add a little yellow tint, any recommendations? I was thinking of adding some tumeric to my coffee "dye", or maybe to some leather conditioner. I am new so just experimenting so far, but I feel bad because the guy is waiting for his belt. Any help is appreciated. I have attached a fairly close example of the color I'm trying to match. This is very close but the color I need is a little lighter with what I see as a more yello/orangey tint.

life is an experiment go for it!!!! But don't try vinegaroon on fish and chips lol! The roon has never let me down is cheap and easy to make i also will be trying some natural dyes, spring is finally here and so some spring flowers will be ready soon.

Hey Harry! Great info here, and I'm really looking forward to your manuscript coming out on natural dyes on leather (I saw that over in another forum). I would love to buy it when it's available. Quick question for you: do you prepare and finish your dyed leather in any particular way? I'm experimenting with using oak galls + iron sulfate as a black ink as an accent paint instead of an all-over dye. I've been thickening it up with gum arabic and agar agar, and am getting a little bit of powdery smearing when it dries. I'm thinking it has to do with the naked surface of the veg tan not being properly primed or moisturized? Maybe saddle soap before and mink oil after? Any suggestions welcome!

Many natural dyes require a mordant to fix them and make them permanent. That is where I would start my search. Somewhere on LW, there are a thread or 2 that deal with natural dyes. Search for it. Try a google search "site:leatherworker.net natural dye" without the quotes and see what you find.

Most natural dyes I have dealt with always seem to need something to set it, at least with fabrics. I've not tried a natural dye on leather, well I have used vinegaroon but that's it. Unfortunately all of my books are still in boxes from the move so I can't go through my library and look.

I have been trying to read about making some of my own dye for leather. The only thing I make are knife sheaths. I have read some stuff about using walnuts, just putting them in some water and boil them down. Some writings mention about putting a setting agent in with the mixture, but I am not sure what that would be or how much of it you need. I also read somewhere about even using pecan hulls to make a dye. Anybody have much experience with doing this or is just not worth the time to do. Not really meaning to save money but meaning that they do not work very well or do not last like the stuff you buy. Any help or guidance would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Came across this site with some interesting free ebooks. This one, I thought would be interesting to the natural dye folk: http://manybooks.net/titles/mairete2407624076-8.html

I remember seeing a post awhile back that had a list of things you could use to make natural dyes, can anyone steer me towards that, Id like to do some experimenting

When using a natural dye i.e. Black Tea or boiled down Pecan hulls, do you mix it with vinegar to dye the leather? Scott.

Theres a natural dye, its a bright orange-ish- yellow , I use it in cooking, Turmeric . It stains just about everything it comes in contact with , kitchen work benches, ......clothes. Theres no harm in experimenting with it or mixing it with other dyes to get the colour you want. HS

Billybop, Thanks very much for your reference to natural dyes - you have pointed me to lots of interested reading!! Much appreciated rgds

There are a number of threads on LWN about making natural dyes that you might find helpful. I don't remember them mentioning oil based dye, but many are water-based. In any case, some of these might give you a starting point! https://leatherworker.net/forum/search/?&q="natural dye"&search_and_or=or&sortby=relevancy I think I remember the following thread being particularly interesting.

Hey All, I was able to get to this project over the last week. 1. I am pretty sure these are a variety of Chinese chestnuts, or at least crossed with them, as that is what the MO Dept of Conv. is working with. 2. Not pleasant to deal with. (#1) 3. With stout gloves, pliers and a hammer, I broke them into little pieces. After getting about 2 cups worth, I gave up. (#2) 4. I dumped the broken ones and then filled a large crock pot with whole ones. 5. Filled the crock pot with water (a little over 2 liters) 6. Heated on high for 4 hours, then on low for 20 hours. 7. Drained and thanks to using a liner, just transferred those spiky things to the trash. 8. After cooling, I soaked a holster that honestly had made its way to my trash bin as I was not pleased with the cut I did. 9. Soaked the holster for 10 hours, then let it dry for a day. 10. One coat of neatsfoot oils, after it soaked in and dried, I added a coat of a mix I made of 2 parts neatsfoot, 2 parts olive oil and 1 part beeswax. I think the colors in the picture are fairly accurate. Wished it came out a deeper color, but I typically put a cup of isopropyl alcohol in natural dye to prevent mold. I think it helps open the pores too, so need to do that and dip something else. All in all, I like it.

G'Day, My Mother used to spin and prepare her own wool, knit , make garments etc. While she kept her colours natural, as in how they came off the sheeps back, her friends used natural dyes like boiled spinach water, (amongst other vegies and plants) , mulberries, assorted berries etc. I guess thats where the influence came from . HS

G'Day, The markings on the skin are just perfect. Even the markings on the blade of the knife look cool too. Speaking of natural colours Rockoboy, , I have thought about using stuff like paprika, turmeric...and tea... as a natural dye, amongst others. I'll experiment with water based & oil based versions. They can stain clothing & kitchen benches if you're not careful when cooking. I think the oil based version will work better.... the paprika on my steak tonight and my love of curries gave me the idea. HS

I have seen primitive style sheaths made from dog rawhide bones. The rawhide was soaked until it was pliable. Because pieces were so thick he would stretch it flat and let it dry. Then he sanded it if I remember correctly to thin it. When it was as thick as he wanted it, it was soaked again and formed over a mold to dry. Some were left plain, so had designs pressed into it while it was drying. Natural dyes were used to stain it. Bones, stones, hair, teeth, and what not to decorate it.

100 years ago: chemical dyes were available, so was bees' wax and neetsfoot oil 150 years ago: the same 200 years ago: mostly natural dyes, eg reds/orange/yellow from saffron, blacks from walnut shells. Some chemical dyes starting to be made

I ordered a side of natural veg-tan tooling leather from Hermann Oak. At $11/square foot, it was almost $300 with shipping. I'll run some natural dye experiments with this leather, versus cheaper veg-tan tooling leathers, and post the results here. The experiment that prompted this search was dyeing with natural walnut extract. When dyeing one cheap veg-tan tooling leather with walnut, it instantly turned a beautiful, rich brown with one application of extract. Another veg-tan tooling leather didn't change color at all, even with a 24-hour soak.