Production of plant pigments DIY

[Xig]

hi

I want to open a tannery (traditional tannery), but There are no natural colors in my country. For this reason, I have to produce the colors myself. How do I do this?

[Dwight]

I believe somewhere in the translation of Arabic to English . . . your thought got lost.

Leather has it's own natural color when tanned . . . and I think you may have been trying to describe dyes???

Try again . . . perhaps we can help you more.

May God bless,

Dwight

[Sheilajeanne]

From the the title of the thread, Dwight, the poster wants to use plant pigments to dye leather. Not knowing what plants are available in their country, the only thing I can suggest is to make some vinegaroon: 

 

[Sheilajeanne]

Never underestimate the power of Google! 

Leather Dyeing with Plants Dyes: A Review Shazia Pervaiz*1 , Tahira Aziz Mughal1 , Filza Zafar Khan2

https://innspub.net/jbes/leather-dyeing-with-plants-dyes-a-review/

 

I am sure that if you search, you can find articles about dyeing leather that are written in your own language!

[Dwight]

6 hours ago, Sheilajeanne said:

From the the title of the thread, Dwight, the poster wants to use plant pigments to dye leather. Not knowing what plants are available in their country, the only thing I can suggest is to make some vinegaroon: 

 

I took it that he was interested in making a pigment plant as in a factory.

You do those things when you spend 30 years working in a "plant" . . . and the languages uses the "plant" as a place a lot in your conversation.

May God bless,

Dwight

[Sheilajeanne]

Ookay, I see now you could be right! And the posters sig picture would back you up - click on it, and it shows leather being dyed in vats. But when I saw 'natural' that reinforced the way I was thinking! 

Edited September 3, 2021 by Sheilajeanne

[chrisash]

There is a UK based company that imports or works in conjunction with a African company for different dyed goats leather, could be a contact point for more information . I suggest a email may  get you some contacts

https://www.tustingandburnettshop.com/ 

[Xig]

18 hours ago, Dwight said:

I believe somewhere in the translation of Arabic to English . . . your thought got lost.

Leather has it's own natural color when tanned . . . and I think you may have been trying to describe dyes???

Try again . . . perhaps we can help you more.

May God bless,

Dwight

I am a Kurdish, not arabic.

this is very natural that I don't speak english. english is not equal of all worlds languages. I don't use translator for writing this text.

[Dwight]

9 hours ago, Xig said:

I am a Kurdish, not arabic.

this is very natural that I don't speak english. english is not equal of all worlds languages. I don't use translator for writing this text.

My apologies Xig . . . I did not mean to insult you . . . and if I did . . . I'm truly sorry.

It might help if you did use the translator . . . then look at it again before sending it to make sure it says what you want.  English has no equals in the business world among all the languages of the world.  

That is why it is the standard for business use.

May God bless,

Dwight

[Matt S]

As far as I'm aware most tanneries buy their pigments and dyes from specialist dealers in such things, or they mix them up from common/commercially available substances. I don't know the details and I expect that very few leatherworkers will, any more than a machinist will be familiar with the smelting of steel. You may be able to find some recipes in old technical books, but beware that many of these use archaic names for ingredients. Many of them will have been found to be sub-optimal (e.g. causing red-rot) or substances now known to be hazardous to health or the environment.

What is/was the traditional tanning culture like in Iran?

[Xig]

13 hours ago, Dwight said:

My apologies Xig . . . I did not mean to insult you . . . and if I did . . . I'm truly sorry.

It might help if you did use the translator . . . then look at it again before sending it to make sure it says what you want.  English has no equals in the business world among all the languages of the world.  

That is why it is the standard for business use.

May God bless,

Dwight

Thank you for your accountability

[Xig]

9 hours ago, Matt S said:

As far as I'm aware most tanneries buy their pigments and dyes from specialist dealers in such things, or they mix them up from common/commercially available substances. I don't know the details and I expect that very few leatherworkers will, any more than a machinist will be familiar with the smelting of steel. You may be able to find some recipes in old technical books, but beware that many of these use archaic names for ingredients. Many of them will have been found to be sub-optimal (e.g. causing red-rot) or substances now known to be hazardous to health or the environment.

What is/was the traditional tanning culture like in Iran?

this industry had flourished in the past (in middle east and Iran), but it is sluggish today. the main reason for this sluggish is that Iranians sell the skin before tanning (I think in English it is called PICKLE).

[Sheilajeanne]

Yes, hides are pickled so they can be stored. It also gets them ready for tanning:  https://www.vandykestaxidermy.com/Pickling-W49.aspx#:~:text=The pickle helps dissolve the,salt water and acid pickles.&text=What a pickle will do,cannot get it right way.

[Matt S]

12 hours ago, Xig said:

this industry had flourished in the past (in middle east and Iran), but it is sluggish today. the main reason for this sluggish is that Iranians sell the skin before tanning (I think in English it is called PICKLE).

So why the change? What did Iranian and Middle Eastern tanneries use for dyestuffs in the past? Are those materials still available?

[fredk]

The chemicals used in making dyes are among the chemicals under embargo by other countries signed up to the Western Powers controls

[DanDSilva]

Vegetable-dyeing leather is a bit of a lost art in the English-speaking world.  We have older books on the subject, but they are often vague (such as lacking measurements, especially Medieval texts) or use ingredients that are hard to get nowadays.

I would think that if you're running a tannery, it would be much easier to contract someone else to grow and/or process your plant dyes rather than try to do both at once.  But here are some links you might find useful:

Madder (red)

The color produced by madder tends to be duller and often more "rusty" than we expect from modern artificial red dyes.

Madder Dye Plant Cultivation

Red leather using historical dye (madder)

Roman Red: dying leather with madder roots

Indigo (blue)

Judging from most of the photos I've seen, vegetable-tanned leather dyed with indigo tends to be either dull (since the underlying brownish color of the leather clashes with the blue) or dark (if dyed enough times to hide the brown).  Though I do remember seeing a pair of fairly bright blue boots once that were supposedly dyed with indigo.

Woad is used in much the same way, because the main colorant is the same as found in indigo, though in smaller amounts; it's called indigotin.

Growing Indigo  This site also has instructions on preparing the dyebath.

Dyeing Leather With Indigo.  Apparently the process is much the same as with fabric, but you need to soak leather longer and rinse thoroughly to remove the alkali.

Unfortunately I have never found clear instructions for producing a good natural yellow on leather.  Turmeric produces a wonderful color, which is washfast, but it's not lighfast at all -- a day in the sun will leave it looking like it was never dyed in the first place.  I've been frustrated finding out how to use rhamnus (Persian berry or buckthorn), although it was once a popular leather dye, and weld (reseda) is apparently just difficult to use on leather.

Here's some further information from another user.

Edited September 5, 2021 by DanDSilva

[Sheilajeanne]

I don't know how well it would work on leather, but goldenrod can be used to dye yarn and cloth yellow. It's a very common roadside weed here in most of North America. Unfortunately, it's become an invasive species in other countries, so I doubt it would be welcome in Iran!

https://www.cedardelldesigns.com/blog/goldenrod-dye

Edited September 5, 2021 by Sheilajeanne