Post by: jbullard1 on September 11, 2008, 08:44:50 PM
Post by: david32cal on September 11, 2008, 09:09:01 PM
Post by: Mitch on September 11, 2008, 09:20:26 PM
Post by: Uncle Russ on September 11, 2008, 09:34:25 PM
I am the first to admit that I have a problem trying to dye anything, especially brown, the color with which I have had the most failures!
Now my wife, she who knows everything about everything worth knowing, has informed me that the dye we get today is not the same dye we were getting twenty plus years ago...apparently she read somewhere that the additives we have in our water today, which are all somehow for the betterment of our health ....has caused a need to change the original formula, or older formula, and if we use "pure rain water" we will see better results.
Now, what I'm thinking is that principal may somehow apply to walnut hulls....Don't know, just thinking out loud.
Uncle Russ...
Post by: jbullard1 on September 11, 2008, 09:52:56 PM
Post by: Gobbler on September 12, 2008, 12:41:43 AM
in the dye. I have dyed quite a bit and have left it in the dye pot for 2 weeks sometimes. I use green walnuts and slice the hull with a knife then boil the walnut for a while and let cool then add clothing. I also find that some of my best shades have been some of the worst looking and smelling dye pots. You just skim the mold and yuk off the top of the solution and throw stuff back in. I have a pot full since last fall that I still use. hope this helps. I suppose I should change it some day, but it's a little like Elk Camp Coffee you just keep adding more to it
Also not that it is perfect but my blanket shirt in my avatar started out a white wool hospital blanket (military surplus)
Post by: Captchee on September 12, 2008, 09:38:55 AM
next would be did you use green walnut hulls or dried ?
green hulls will dye just about anything even your hands but the color can be darker from my experience.
I would also agree with what gobbler and the others have said .
We used to have an old porcelain canning pot that my dad kept his walnut die in for traps .
What he would do is add paraffin to the boiling water . Once it was all liquefied, we would dip our traps .
This would take off the human sent and wax the trap all in one process.
When this mix cooled , the paraffin would then cool on the top of the liquid. Mom would then break it up and put it back in the shelf tell the next time . She would then add another hand full of green walnuts and just leave the pot sitting out side .
The thing would have in a few days , all kinds of stuff in it ., bugs , mould , you name it. As I recall it smelled to high heaven and got pretty thick . Something like real good coffee
But in no time if you dipped anything in it , that item even metal would come out almost black .
if you have some old iron laying around , it wont hirt to toss a peice of it in as well
What you need to do is soak your pants for a few days . Take them out and rinse them in cold water . If the color isn’t ark enough , soak them again . When you reach the depth of color you think want , go a little darker because when they dry the color can lighten up some ..
Now what we do is miz up a cold water , vinegar and salt mix and rinse the item in it . This sets the dye . Pretty good .
Now let the item drip dry . don’t wash it in a machine. Machines are designed to scrub cloths . You don’t want the item scrubbed, just let it dry naturally..
Later once dry you need to wash the item a couple times with a genital product like woolite . Do it by hand and the colors will last longer .
The other thing to keep in mind is natural dyes often fade over time with regular washing
Post by: jbullard1 on September 12, 2008, 10:02:41 AM
Need to get out and round up a few green ones
Thanks for the help
Post by: Ridge on September 13, 2008, 09:34:34 AM
First, don't try to dye new clothing. The dye solution wants to run off of it. You should wear/wash the heck out of anything you plan to dye. It will take a better color.
Second...why all the cold dye baths? That may stain your clothing, but it won't dye them.
Just wash those britches about 10 or 12 times and then boil some walnut hulls in a cast iron pot. Let the solution cool some and then steep the pants for about an hour.
If you don't have a cast iron pot, just throw some old rusty pieces of metal into the solution as you are boiling it. All you are doing is adding a mordant.
Post by: Captchee on September 13, 2008, 10:28:55 AM
While I was in the service , I had a chance to tour Japan for a couple weeks . A couple of the smaller villages at that time still dyed silks in the old way . I remember the rivers below their villages would run the colors of the dye’s for some ways . It was very interesting and wonderful to see .
My wifes mother told me that as a child she often helped in dying silks for kimonos and such .
She lived with us through her last years and when I dyed my Alasdulo, I ask her advice
My mother also dyed her Quills much the same way . Hot water for applying the color and cold for the rinse.
I dyed my Alasdulo with raspberries doing the same process I described . that’s how she showed me
It came out a nice red and the color has lasted some 5 or 6 years now .
Im sure there are other ways , but that’s just how I was shown to do it . it worked for me
Post by: Captchee on September 13, 2008, 10:52:55 AM
so i looked it up
(http://shofu.pref.ishikawa.jp/shofu/intro_e/PICTURE/H_P50506.gif)
Yuzen-nagashi :to wash the paste
and excessive dye out with cold water
Post by: Gobbler on September 13, 2008, 11:00:58 AM
I would agree with boiling also, just didn't state it that way after I read my original post again the only thing I would caution is be careful with leather and new material as has been stated before. I found out how to make a set of leggings for a toddler out of my 12 year sons pair
anyway I beleive you just have to work with it a little to perfect your own way.
Post by: Loyalist Dave on September 15, 2008, 08:00:35 AM
Quote
if you have some old iron laying around , it wont hirt to toss a peice of it in as well.Quite Right!
Folks please note "one mordant does not fit all". A Mordant, an additive to help the dye take and to make it more colorfast, is often determined by the type of dye and the fabric which is died. Now the salt will work a bit for some natural dyes ( and it works great on Rit Dye - a chemical dye), and the vinegar is good for wool to keep it color fast, but...,
Walnut hulls work best with iron oxide. An iron kettle with the hulls boiled at least a day works well ; letting the cloth sit for several days works even better. IF you don't have an iron kettle, not to worry, take some 4-0 steel wool, and boil it (removes residual oils) and let it sit in a mason jar of water, or water and vinegar to rust. When so rusty you really can't see through the water to the other side, boil your hulls and add the rust solution. (You may want to strain out any leftover bits of metal as these may spot your fabric). Should work well.
LD
Post by: Mitch on September 15, 2008, 01:57:40 PM
Post by: Captchee on September 15, 2008, 03:08:55 PM
Quote from: "Mitch"
well, I guess the way I've been dyeing dang near everything(wool, linen, cotton,leather,etc) "theoretically" doesn't work according to some...and I've cold dyed EVERYTHING with walnut hulls or hickory,pecan hulls.....y'all can dye how you choose, but if you haven't tried the way I suggest, don't tell me it won't work....
i dont think thats whats being said mitch . i think in fact what is being said is that there are many ways to make things work
Post by: jbullard1 on September 15, 2008, 03:52:46 PM
I'm giving it a try we'll see how it works out in a few days
The pants are soaking now
I also have some more cotton material to dye now been thinking about poke berries this time
Post by: Ridge on September 15, 2008, 06:58:48 PM
Quote from: "Mitch"
well, I guess the way I've been dyeing dang near everything(wool, linen, cotton,leather,etc) "theoretically" doesn't work according to some...and I've cold dyed EVERYTHING with walnut hulls or hickory,pecan hulls.....y'all can dye how you choose, but if you haven't tried the way I suggest, don't tell me it won't work....
I assume you are directing this toward me?
I tried your way when I first started learning about natural dyeing. It makes a tolerable stain.
If you like it like that...God bless you.
I've done it both ways. You get much more even, vibrant colors my way. How do I know? Well, after trying for a year or so your way, I began to use about 25 different plants and about 5 different mordants on different materials using the boil method. For a couple of years I kept my "swatches" and the data on the combo's. I found that my methods were repeatable and predictable. The color is more lightfast and withstands washings better. You can also develop a much wider range of colors to choose from.
I never cared for the "everything from your head to your feet" in walnut. The old timers loved color just as much as we do today. As a matter of fact, most of their dyeing was trying to replicate colors that were popular in Europe at the time.
I've learned a thing or two about natural dyeing over the years. Like I said, it was a hobby of mine.
Feel the love, man. There's no need to take anything on a message board personally. It's all about exchanging information and finding a better way to pursue your hobby.
Post by: Mitch on September 15, 2008, 07:20:00 PM
Post by: Captchee on September 15, 2008, 07:37:39 PM
hat on ,
this isnt how we conduct things here . lets step back , relax and move on .
Jbullard1 has got some honest strait forward replies and many different ideas as to what he can do . Now he can deside for himself what he like , doesn’t like , what works for him and what doesn’t .
We don’t need or want to go down this road
ok , hat off , be nice .
good luck on your hunt Mitch
Post by: jbullard1 on September 16, 2008, 09:47:04 AM
I'm pleased with the results this time
(http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u247/jbullard1954/Clothing/Picture002.jpg)
Post by: Mitch on September 16, 2008, 01:15:11 PM
Post by: jbullard1 on September 16, 2008, 01:28:31 PM
Quote from: "Mitch"
Looks good!! a few rendezvous, a few hunts and they'll have "patina"!!(fancy French word for "we don't clean our stuff"!!LOL)....
Mitch
are you telling me my wife was wrong in making me wash my pants?
They had a whole different look before I washed them
I think I'll leave the other pair white and just wear them working and let them patina
Post by: Loyalist Dave on September 16, 2008, 07:25:23 PM
If I gave you the impression that I was sayin' what you did was wrong, my sincere appologies! I did write,
Quote
Now the salt will work a bit for some natural dyes ( and it works great on Rit Dye - a chemical dye), and the vinegar is good for wool to keep it color fast, but..., Walnut hulls work best with iron oxide.
Excuse me please for being imprecise, I should've written that salt will work a bit for some natural dyes, and walnut does well with salt, and please note I also mentioned vinegar as you did, but recommended the "best" mordant for walnut is iron oxide, but I should've be clearer and pointed out that iron oxide is the best if one is looking for "colorfastness". Other methods will dye well, and colors will vary depending on how it's done, but if you are going to wash the item a bit you may want to use the iron oxide.
I'm sorry.
LD
Post by: Mitch on September 16, 2008, 07:34:32 PM
Post by: Loyalist Dave on September 18, 2008, 12:48:34 PM
Quote
I use the baking soda rinse to "kill" the acids in the dye and mordant...
Duh-oh! :bl th up
LD
Post by: wwpete52 on September 22, 2008, 11:47:13 AM
Post by: R.M. on September 22, 2008, 11:49:21 AM
Post by: wwpete52 on September 22, 2008, 02:21:07 PM
Post by: R.M. on September 22, 2008, 02:23:07 PM
Post by: bluebottle on April 17, 2014, 01:20:12 AM
By the way the woodchucks give a brownish red dye to the cloth I bet lol
Post by: Swampfoot on October 27, 2015, 08:30:56 PM