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Showing results for '"natural dye"'.
Found 88 results
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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! -
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
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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.
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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! -
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How to get Veg Tan leather to take Homemade Walnut Dye
Northmount replied to Vikefan's topic in How Do I Do That?
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. -
How to get Veg Tan leather to take Homemade Walnut Dye
Aven replied to Vikefan's topic in How Do I Do That?
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. -
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
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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
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Need ideas for deer hide sheath
Aven replied to archeryrob's topic in Gun Holsters, Rifle Slings and Knife Sheathes
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
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Looking for all-natural veg-tan leather
Harry Marinakis replied to Harry Marinakis's topic in Suppliers
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. -
Looking for all-natural veg-tan leather
Harry Marinakis replied to Harry Marinakis's topic in Suppliers
I agree, Bill I have been experimenting with both topical dye application and soaking. Natural dyes often require 5 to 15 applications, with drying between coats. Soaking in dye for a few days is usually effective, but it requires a lot more dye, and you use up a lot more dye at a faster rate. I ran into some problems with modern veg-tan tooling leathers refusing to take any natural dye at all, even with 3-day soaks. Surprisingly, most of the ancient dye recipes from the middle ages specify topical application of the dye, not soaking! -
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Wow, thanks for the great information here! I would love to experiment with making my own natural dyes. -
I've been playing around with natural leather dyes myself. Below is a table of some of the natural dyes that I've created so far, using Madder root, Brazilwood, Red Sandalwood, Old Fustic, vinagroon, and a variety of other natural reagents and mordants. I haven't even started exploring blues, yellows or browns yet. Almost all natural leather dyes require soaking for prolonged periods (e.g., days) in order to get good, saturated colors. There are exceptions (like Brazilwood and vinagroon). Unfortunately, most of the natural dyes that work with leather are fugitive (i.e., they are not color fast, sun fast or wash fast), so they have to be sealed and cannot be exposed to the elements. The rare exceptions include vinagroon, walnut dyes, and some lichen dyes. Also, most of the protocols for dyeing fibers do not translate well to leather, as many fiber dye baths require temps hotter than 180 degrees F (and that would obviously harden the leather).
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Oh too bad you tossed the walnuts! English and black walnuts are the SAME!! I was going from a book about natural dyeing, Wild Color by Jenny Dean. No need to shuck, just let them ferment in a bucket outside. But now I know why their were pieces of husk in the yard. Darned squirrels. At the end of fermentation, I strain the pieces out, and compost the whole mess of solids. I know I'm wasting potential dye, but they drop nuts every year! Ps toss in some paper and it will dye that too! This year I added 1/2 cup iron liquor (old nails and vinegar) to 3.5 gallon of walnut dye. Gave some wool a gorgeous deep brown. Hooray. Will concentrate the dye down by boiling before trying on leather. Wish me luck! -
Does Anyone Have Experience With Natural Dye And Finishes?
Tayylor replied to Tayylor's topic in How Do I Do That?
Hi, So I have made natural dyes ro my satisfaction. However, I'm not sure if I need to bevel, skive and punch before placing the leather strap into the dye. I didn't do this when I dyed some straps and then when I beveled the leather underneath was much lighter. Can someone please clarify for me. -
The only way I have successfully gotten natural dyes darker is to leave them to soak in the solution for longer periods. If I do a blueberry or other natural dye I get a huge difference if I leave it for a few hours or if I leave it over night. Neatsfoot darkens it some but not much and sun could further bleech out the color.
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Natural dyes typically require a mordent and boil or simmer. Otherwise, you'll find that they're not color fast, light fast, or both. Have a look at https://www.cs.arizona.edu/patterns/weaving/monographs/fms_dye.pdf for insight. Darker brown dyes are not as common as lighter yellows and tans, and a lot depends on how you mordent your material. Waxed tooling leather exposed to UV will darken on its own. See for yourself by putting a piece out in the sun.
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Hi, I'm using natural dyes to color my collars, however most of the dye comes out very light. I would like to know what to apply for the finish that will darken the leather considerably. Thank you in advance.
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Does Anyone Have Experience With Natural Dye And Finishes?
Tayylor replied to Tayylor's topic in How Do I Do That?
I will have to look up many of the things used for the recipies in that book. Well, not the urine, of course. I made the collar on the dog for my Avaitar. It was my first after some practice. This is not natural dye. -
Does Anyone Have Experience With Natural Dye And Finishes?
greenlake replied to Tayylor's topic in How Do I Do That?
I can't speak from experience, but if I ever was to make natural dyes or stains I'd pay close attention to chapter five in "The Leather Worker's Manual" by Standage. You can find it legally for free online. Edit: It also has recipes for finishes and many other products. It's a great resource, but many of the recipes outside of the dyes and stains can't be used as-is due to unsafe or unavailable ingredients.
