Natural Dye Interest Group

This month we explore black walnut, Juglans nigra. Walnuts have been used for dyeing for centuries. The nut gives a lovely rich brown color and with a post dye modification with iron you can get a very good black. Walnuts are rich in tannins and do not require a mordant. Harvest walnuts while they are still green and then keep in the freezer until you are ready to use them.   Nuts give a lovely rich brown and do not require a mordant. Leaves will give a yellow-green  and do require a mordant. Either plant based or protein based fibers can be used. Bring some un-mordanted fiber for the nut bath and mordanted fiber for the leaves. Please bring equal weight of leaves and nuts  to the weight of fiber you want to dye. 

If you haven't joined the us for the study group we pick one topic each month which is led by one of the natural dyer's in our group. This is not a class and does assume a basic familiarity with natural dyeing. We do recommend that you have taken a class or done some research so you can  have a  satisfactory experience.

What to Bring: 

Plant material and fiber to dye (mordanted and un-mordanted), show and tell to share, something to work on.

Hosted by Joyce Tromba