Coffee Dying Disaster

[Boriqua]

Well I figure I should post my fails in case anyone else was going to try. I mean I already spent the time and material money!

So I have used coffee to dye small leather pieces for some jewelry type pieces and loved the look so decided I would try it on a bag.

I boiled about 1/2 can of the cheapest ground coffee I could buy in about 4 qts of water and boiled it for about 1 hour and let it cool. After it cooled I put all of it including the grounds in a large aluminium tray and soaked my pieces for about 5 hours. I wasnt happy with the results but had noticed that one small piece I had piled grounds on top had come out with a cool mottled appearance that spoke to me.

I took my pieces out of the soup and put the soup back in my pot added the rest of the can of grounds and boiled it some more. I put my pieces back in the aluminium pan and without straining the grounds poured the cooled coffee mess on my pieces and specifically covered the pieces in a layer of grounds. I left it over night.

Pieces came out neat looking and after they dried I was thrilled. BUT they were as brittle as hell. So I rub neatsfoot oil into the pieces and let them set overnight. Still a little concerned I rub a light coat again in the morning and I move on to paying projects and come back to this a few days later.

As I am sewing on one of the loops that holds a "D" ring in place on to the back piece I pop a hole. While it happens from time to time I have been handsewing for a long time and my elbows are pretty tension calibrated. I havent popped a hole in forever. I figure its me and move on with less pressure.

I leave it to work on other stuff and a few more days pass and I take out my little pet project to sew the gusset onto the face. I'm being a little more careful about tension but still ... I manage to pop about 3 more spaces and finally ... I cut up the bag to save the hardware and call it a failed experiment.

So any clues ... Im thinkng that the acid? in the coffee just destroyed the leather. I have another bag I did with Blueberry dye which worked out fine and it soaked for just as many hours so I dont think it is the amount of time it spent in liquid.

Edited October 21, 2015 by Boriqua

[switchman]

I think maybe the high tannin content of coffee may have something to do with it.

[epiphanist1248]

I kind of wonder about using the aluminum tray with the strong coffee and the leather, and if that's just too many chemicals jockeying for supremacy at once and making a mess of your leather. Maybe try a Pyrex dish for soaking? At least to eliminate one variable.

[TomBanwell]

I'm thinking that maybe like using vinegaroon you need to neutralize the acidity with baking soda & water or something similar. I also would be nervous about using an aluminum dish rather than glass.