Making Natural Dyes?

[mlapaglia]

Saffron prices at wholesale and retail rates range from US$500 to US$5,000per pound, or US$1,100–11,000/kg. In Western countries, the average retail price in 1974 was $1,000 per pound, or US$2,200 per kilogram.

a bit much to experiment with. 

[dikman]

I thought I'd add my  experiences to this thread (which, by the way, has some very good info in it). I decided to have a go at making walnut dye and did a lot of reading. I soaked the husks for a while, then boiled them and let them soak a while longer. After straining through some calico (very time consuming) I ended up with a nice dark liquid. My first effort at dying leather wasn't that successful. I soaked a piece for a couple of hours and let it drain dry. The leather hadn't changed colour much, although there was more darkening just along the edges. I might have to let some of the liquid evaporate to thicken it up a bit.

Anyhow, I've decided to have another go with this year's crop - the birds (cockatoos) start to get into the nuts while they're still green so I'm not going to get an edible crop (again) so I might as well make some use of them. This time I'll try something different that I read about. I started off with the complete nuts soaking in a large bucket, soon there was a second bucket, then two more buckets full of nuts, with more to come, so I used a largish wheelie bin, with a lid, and dumped them all in it and as the birds drop more nuts I just throw them in whole. Being Summer (and bloody hot!) the bin is in the sun and heats up the water/nuts inside which should speed up the fermentation. Now for the good bit, an easy way to hopefully make the dye - I'll just leave the whole lot to stew for at least a year! One chap posted that he was doing the boiling/simmering thing but also had a heap sitting in a barrel outside and he found that after a year or so it produced a dye that was no different to the stuff he'd been boiling/simmering/peeling.

It also means that if, for some reason, the dye doesn't work I haven't wasted  lot of time (and fuel) making it.

[Lizardo]

I have made both walnut and vinegaroon . Fortunately black walnut trees line the roads here so that isn't a problem. I reduced my dye each time I make a batch, then combine and reduce again. I get a nice, even medium brown when brushed and a bit darker when immersed.

[Harry Marinakis]

On ‎3‎/‎13‎/‎2018 at 7:52 PM, Lizardo said:

I have made both walnut and vinegaroon . Fortunately black walnut trees line the roads here so that isn't a problem. I reduced my dye each time I make a batch, then combine and reduce again. I get a nice, even medium brown when brushed and a bit darker when immersed.

Add a whiff of vinagroon to the walnut for an even darker brown 

[dikman]

An update to my long-term-soaking-in-a-bin trial. Didn't work! Left them to soak for several months over Winter but ended up with a browny-green solution that stunk!! So I threw it all out. Started again this year, half-filled a pot with green nuts (off the ground) cut into halves, filled with boiling water then brought back to the boil and simmered for an hour or so. Looks good and it's now out in the sun reducing down. I thought I'd try a cheaper way (i.e. not using gas to boil it), half-filled the pot again with chopped up green nuts and filled with cold water, then covered with a piece of glass and left out in the sun. We're having near 40*C days at the moment and at the end of the first day the pot was almost too hot to touch!! The heat was bringing out the dye, so I'll repeat this whenever we have a sunny day, looks like a cheap way to make the dye.

[Harry Marinakis]

 

[ScoobyNewbie]

Has anybody tried chestnuts? I mean, that’s a favorite color, right? Chestnut brown?  Mahogany would be cool too...

Edited January 20, 2019 by ScoobyNewbie

[wolfeyes]

I am currently working on a batch of chestnut.  I have done walnut and vinegaroon as well.  (if you can find iron (II) acetate, mix with a WEAK vinegar solution, same thing).   I will post back in a couple of weeks on the Chestnut.

[wolfeyes]

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.

[charper]

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!

[Davm]

The thing I like about vinegaroon is that it doesn't seem to bleed out if the leather gets wet. I make a lot of gear designed for the outdoors and all the other dyes I've tried, if the leather gets soaking wet in the rain and you have a white shirt- your white shirt now has a brown spot from the wet leather.  I've dealt with this problem-folks tell me to seal the leather, etc. but if the leather is abraded in outdoor work, etch- it will eventually bleed.  I'd prefer a nice brown to the blackish vinegaroon but so far I haven't found anything.