Making Natural Dyes?

[highnoonhunter]

Two more natural dyes I have used are Goldenseal (locally known as yellow root) and Red Puccoon root (locally known as blood root).

Noted: I have yet to use these on leather, but I have used them on cloth, feathers, and wood.

I simply bring the roots to a gentle boil for about 10 minutes, and then let them set until cool. I store them in a mason jar. The Goldenseal makes for a rich to bright yellow, and the Red Puccoon can be blood red to orange (depending on the color of the item you are dying). And you can mix them to get colors in between.

The coverage is good if you don't over water. I usually just cover the roots with water.

I experimented with soaking them in rubbing alchohol once, and it worked, but the colors weren't as dark.

Also, the will mold in the jar over time. My main use was in dying wood arrows. So I wasn't as concerned with the mold as I would be with using it for leather products. So I simply scraped the mold off the top, and used it. I dipped the arrows in a PVC tube.

[zaynexpetty]

Two more natural dyes I have used are Goldenseal (locally known as yellow root) and Red Puccoon root (locally known as blood root).

Noted: I have yet to use these on leather, but I have used them on cloth, feathers, and wood.

I simply bring the roots to a gentle boil for about 10 minutes, and then let them set until cool. I store them in a mason jar. The Goldenseal makes for a rich to bright yellow, and the Red Puccoon can be blood red to orange (depending on the color of the item you are dying). And you can mix them to get colors in between.

The coverage is good if you don't over water. I usually just cover the roots with water.

I experimented with soaking them in rubbing alchohol once, and it worked, but the colors weren't as dark.

Also, the will mold in the jar over time. My main use was in dying wood arrows. So I wasn't as concerned with the mold as I would be with using it for leather products. So I simply scraped the mold off the top, and used it. I dipped the arrows in a PVC tube.

I am very interested in trying out the Red Puccoon root dye. Only problem is; I don't think I'll be able to find any locally. Thank you for the suggestions!

[simontuntelder]

I have zero experience with natural dyes - to be honest I never dye any leathers besides the occassional edge dye.

But I do love indigo and I was wondering if any of you guys have any experience with dyeing natural veg tan with indigo (preferably natural?

[zaynexpetty]

I have zero experience with natural dyes - to be honest I never dye any leathers besides the occassional edge dye.

But I do love indigo and I was wondering if any of you guys have any experience with dyeing natural veg tan with indigo (preferably natural?

I am also interested in this.

[Drgrandma]

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!

[zaynexpetty]

On 10/14/2016 at 11:32 PM, Drgrandma said:

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!

I will have to try english walnuts next. I still have my batch from about a year ago that I made with black walnuts, and it gives an interesting color (see attached picture). Since, I have added some 91% alcohol to my batch to help stave off mold, which has diluted it quite a bit. It takes twice the amount of coats now and doesn't have quite the same brushed effect.

[Harry Marinakis]

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).

Edited June 27, 2017 by Harry Marinakis

[LeatherBeast]

Wow, thanks for the great information here! I would love to experiment with making my own natural dyes.

[leopardskinfynn]

On 27/06/2017 at 3:33 PM, Harry Marinakis said:

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).

Hi, 

I'm a newbie here. I'm looking to naturally dye rawhide red/crimson/scarlet before turning into a frame drum. I would really appreciate any help you could give me - your red colours are gorgeous. 

Many thanks! 

[fredk]

Anyone tried saffron for orange-to-red?