Dying String

[entiendo]

Roo got me to thinking when we were taking about the purple hide. I've always wanted natural pink and light blue string and I haven't been able to get it so I thought I could try my luck with dying a bit of my own. It looks like I can't get the best dye here in California...I have to get the Eco Flow...or something like that. But I'm most concerned that the colors will come off, like I'll end up with a blue wrist.

I might as well ask what the lot of you use for conditioner? I have these pieces that need cleaned and conditioned and there is so much debate on the best way to go about that.

[8thsinner]

I have one idea for you entiendo, Tie it to the roof of the car and visit the best car wash in town, it'll come up all polished and shiny....

Sorry but that other post put me in a jokey mood.

But I look forward to the responses myself, maybe some info will stick for when I need it myself.

[entiendo]

well that's no help...

[MADMAX22]

I think its called RIT dye or something similar. Can be found at craft stores and is suppose to work pretty good for dying fabric of various sorts and will work on leather for some decent results. I think it is pretty stead fast. Worth a shot to play with.

[megabit]

Well I don't know if it would hold fast on tanned leather but with rawhide you could use crushed berries or juice. Blue berries for blue some red berry for your pink. Coffee for dark brown. Black walnut shells for black. I think KAW had a thread on it awhile back.

[8thsinner]

That RIT has been recommended for me by someone else in here who used it for chaps all the time with some very good results, I never got around to using it though due to the price over in this country.

[entiendo]

thanks all. I like the idea of using totally natural ingredients like megabit suggested...I wonder if it works as well on leather.

[rgerbitz]

Boiled onion peels make a nice red color that's color fast on rawhide, I imagine if you dilute you could come up with pink.

[entiendo]

Boiled onion peels make a nice red color that's color fast on rawhide, I imagine if you dilute you could come up with pink.

That is really cool!! Can I really use this process to dye roo?? And you do mean red onions right??? how much water to onion?

I'm going to try and just do a search. I'd love to naturally dye my hides.

[8thsinner]

Heres a quick list of natural dye ingredients, all of which have been recommended for use in INK making, not necessarily strong enough for hide but it's worth investigating

Silver fir, Mimosa, Green wattle, Sweet acacia, Blackwood, Golden wattle, Blue-leaved wattle, Amur maple, Mountain maple, Horse chestnut, Tree of heaven, Alder, Grey alder, White alder, Red alder, Sitka alder, Mountain alder, Marsh andromeda, Madrona, Strawberry tree, Bearberry, Coast banksia, Chitra, Siberian tea, Cherry birch, Silver birch, White birch, Mysore thorn, White cypress-pine, Red cypress-pine, Heather, Tea plant, Hottentot fig, Chestnut hybrids, Bush chinkapin, Japanese chestnut, American sweet chestnut, Chinese chestnut, Ozark chinkapin, Chinquapin, Sweet chetsnut, Chinese chinquapin, Chinknut, River sheoak, Carob, Spurge olive, Redoul, Cornelian cherry, Mountain dogwood, Hazel, Smoke tree, Berry-bearing, catchfly, Broom, Rimu, Native hops, Male fern, Lemon-scented gum, Ulmo, Stinkwood, Native cherry, Ash, Cut-leafed cranesbill, Spotted cranesbill, Wood avens, Chilean hazel, Honey locust, Gunnera, Witch hazel, Alpine heuchera, St. John's wort, Yellow flag, Japanese walnut, Heartseed walnut, Black walnut, Walnut, Larch, Dahurian larch, Japanese larch, Tamarack, Sub-alpine larch, Western larch, Larch, Siberian larch, Dunkeld hybrid larch, Labrador tea, Wild rosemary, Sea lavender, Tanbark oak, Oak galls.

The only thing I have tried is Oak Galls settled in rust for two days, very rich black is the result.