Post by nightmist on Feb 12, 2014 11:27:38 GMT -5
once my walnuts grow out i can dye things.lol
Yanno, I have wondered for quite a while why people who tan at home go to such great fuss.
OK, oak gall can make stripping the hair easier if you know what you are doing with it. Generally though, isn't it easier to brain tan?
That is what I set DD3 to doing when she found herself offered hides by her hunting boyfriend and his family. They have been more than happy to part with the brains as that is about the only part they don't eat. She has got to the point where she is planning some fur on pelts to try playing with taxidermy. The challenge of it is what attracts her.
I admit there was some vested self interest in me encouraging brain tan, though it is far and away the simplest tanning method I know. When I have the proper materials I do quill embroidery, and brain tan is the best hide to use for that.
Both leather and quills can be dyed like any protein fiber fabric. It is just that with leather you have to move quickly to condition it properly after dyeing. It is often easier to dye it in the tanning process, just by adjusting your PH to slightly more acid and adding dyestuffs that will tolerate the process right in. Yet another advantage to brain tanning, I have not yet found any color you cannot use to dye in process when brain tanning. DD has found that she prefers to smoke her hides to make them more water resistant, so she swings towards earth tones when she colors her hides.
She has used some of the acid dyes I use on silk and wool for dyeing. However since she has started smoking hides she has been trying out various natural dyestuffs as most of them give the more traditional colors for smoked hides. Did you know that if you start eating the leaves and using the roots for dying that yellow dock just vanishes from your yard?
It is a joyful thing when one of the kids starts weeding for you without you asking, nagging, begging, or threatening!<G>