I begin with a piece of desired count of linen, usually a natural color or lighter.
I boil fresh black walnut husks in a pot of water just to cover, till it makes a nice, dark dye....I let that cool, remove the walnuts & strain...then I add some cinnamon, nutmeg & ground clove to the dye ~ perhaps a smidge of vanilla too :)
I add just a little water to it, to weaken it a bit....then I blotch & splotch the dye onto random spots of the linen which has been placed on an old cookie sheet...then I lay it out in the sun to dry, or you could use a low oven too.
I stitch in hand (no hoop) so it gets rumpled, but that is a wonderful look....
I keep my dye at room temp for about a week, then make up more as needed.
I hope these directions make sense ~ I kind of just 'play' at it !
Blessings from the Farm...
Lori
6 comments:
Thanks for sharing your recipe...now the hunt for black walnut husks!! ;o) And really, no hoop??? Wow....that truly surprises me!! Smiles & Hugs ~ Robin
Are the black walnuts inside a very prickly ball??? My neighbor has a few of those trees?? lol
Thanks for sharing Lori . (: I have 3 of the walnut trees . When we first moved here , I hated those trees , mainly for having to clean up the walnuts , now I am happy to have them as I always have stain . Have a wonderful day .
Deb T
thank you for sharing it with us all..i will give it a try:)
happy sunday dear xx
Black walnuts; that brings back memories. When we were kids, living in West Virginia, mom would have us hull the black walnuts and I remember how stained our hands would be. Mom found a rock in the woods on my grandfater's farm that has a round divet that a black walnut fits perfectly in. Probably used by early settlers or Indians. She used it to crack the nuts.
What an excellent natural combination.
Thank you most kindly for sharing the recipe for your "special brew" Lori!
Happy day to you...
Warmly,
Judy
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