Cottons, linens and a silk simmered for an hour and left to soak overnight. The silk of course took the colour beautifully. Is the difference because it is an animal fibre? Would wool have taken the colour as beautifully? One piece of cotton I immediately wrapped around a rusty bit and hope to find out what that looks like soon.
It dyes wool beautifully and in Iran it is used as a hair dye! The sad news, however, is that in the states we are loosing black walnuts to a parasite.
ReplyDeletelove those shades of grey.
ReplyDeleteHi Penny, yes I think it is the protein in wool and silk that makes the dye take well. Not sure htough. I gotta order india's book. G.
ReplyDeletedamn, i just wrote you a very long explanation of why the silk took up most of the dye and it disappeared when i went to enlarge your pic. The short answer is that the silk protein attracted and held as much as it wanted, and then what was left over went to the others. cheers, kaite
ReplyDeleteSmall world! DH and I stopped in the local cemetery this afternoon and picked up a bunch of black walnuts to make some ink. I know it sounds strange to look in the cemetery but they have huge old walnut trees in one section and they wreak havoc with the lawn mowers, so they don't mind people taking them. Now I just have to figure out what to do with them in order to make ink.
ReplyDeletePatricia, with species of trees being eliminated, do you think any new species are developing to replace them?
ReplyDeleteGilly, I've had India's book on order since the spring! They tell me it will finally be available mid-September up here in Canada.
ReplyDeleteSo Kaite, if I omit the silk will there be more dye to darken the cottons?
ReplyDeletei used the walnuts last year and found that the cotton dyed just like this, even being alone in the dyepot. the wool and silk and some old ,old linen worked well. when i warranted the cotton with soymilk it worked better, but i always got a greyish and less intense color.
ReplyDeleteNature........... cloth, plants, isn't it magic?
ReplyDeleteI just dyed some cotton and i got brownisch pink,or pinkish brown? But i mordanted first with Tarapowder.
XXXm
that is a totally magnificant color! i am
ReplyDeletejust going to persist though in finding what
works with cotton. but then...hmmm. silk
noile.....
we however do not have walnuts here.
anyway...really fine silk piece
hope all is well with you and the storm.....
ReplyDelete