Acorn Natural Dye

While out for a hike on a sunny Sunday afternoon, I realized I was hiking among a forest of oak trees. So I did what every natural dye enthusiast would do, grabbed a bag out of my back pack and started collecting acorns.

Acorns, like black walnuts, are very strong in tannins making them very good dye materials.

After the hike I had collected about 1.5 pounds of acorns, acorn bits, and a little dirt. Both the acorn shells and caps yield color. Leave the moldy ones on the ground, and shell bits are just as good as the whole seed.

Acorns dye a beautiful light brown, and with a post mordant in an iron bath, a range of gorgeous grays.

Tannins, what?! Mordant, what?! You’ve probably heard about tannins before, it’s the same natural chemical found in wines. Tannins and mordants help the dye particles stick to fibers. Dye and fibers need a little coaxing to actually want to stick to each other, and stick to each other for a long time.

Mordant, from the French word ‘Mordre’ means to bite. So literally, it is a chemical that helps the dye color “bite” into the fiber. Protein fibers such as silk or wool tend to take dye better than cellulose fibers like cotton and linen. Most of the time, a mordant is used to help these fibers accept the dye better. Some of the most common mordants are aluminum sulfate, aluminum acetate, iron, and tannins. Mordants may or may not affect the final color of the dyed goods. Iron for example, will darken or sadden most colors. Using plants high in tannins such as myrobalan will pre dye your fabric with a pale yellowish hue before dyeing.

Often times mordants are used before dyeing, soaking the fiber for at least 4 hours in the solution. After fibers have been mordanted, they can be dyed right away, or dried and dyed at a later date.

A post mordant is a mordant used after dyeing. Iron is a common post mordant, used with cellulose fibers. Using iron with wool will make the wool brittle so it is not usually used with this fiber. You can make your own iron mordant solution using the recipe at the bottom of the tutorial.

Acorns dye a nice brown color, and using an iron post mordant, the color changes to gorgeous grays. At the bottom of this tutorial, I talk about how to do this.

Any time you use chemicals, although they are found in nature are irritants. Always wear a dust mask and gloves and work in a well ventilated area. Use pots and utensils for dyeing only and never use the same pots for dyeing and cooking.

There are many dye materials that are naturally high in tannins. These make excellent dyes and you don’t need a mordant to help the dye stay on the fiber. Acorns, black walnut, pomegranate skins, avocado pits, and myrobalan just a few natural dyes high in tannins.

Though you won’t need a mordant with natural dyes high in tannins, its still best practice to use dye only pots and utensils for dyeing only.

Now, back to the acorns. As mentioned, not only did I collect a bunch of acorns, but dirt too. I placed the acorns in the bottom of my dye pot and cleaned as much dirt as possible off them them with a few good shakes and a food good rinses.

Once the acorns are clean, place in the pot and fill the pot with water.

Heat the acorns to a simmer and let simmer for an hour. Turn off the heat and let steep overnight.

In the morning, bring the acorns back to a simmer once again. Simmer for an hour and let rest overnight. If you need to add a little more water to the pot, do so, keeping the pot half way to 2/3 full with water.

In the morning, bring the pot back to a boil once more. Simmer for an hour and let steep.

The total amount of time for dye extraction is up to you. Some recipes, acorns are boiled once, strained out and the liquid is used for dye. I have also read recipes where the color is extracted for almost a week, and the fabrics are left to soak in the acorn dye for a few days. This all depends on how deep of a color you want, how much time you have and how patient you are. The more time you can let your color extract and the more time you let you fabrics soak will yield deeper color. For this recipe, I am boiling and simmering the dye pot for one hour three times over a 48 hour period.

After your dye has been extracted for 48 hours and the dye liquid is cool, strain out the acorns. I use a mesh strainer utensil, but a colander works well too.

Now that the dye is ready, the fabrics for dyeing must be prepped. Make sure the fabrics have been washed first and soak them in water for at least 45 minutes before dyeing.

Add 1-2 quarts of water to your dye bath. So much of the liquid has evaporated during the boiling process.

While your fabrics are soaking in water, bring the dye liquid to a boil one last time. Once the pot has come to a boil, turn off the heat.

Wring out as much water as possible from your fabrics, give a little shake to get some of the wrinkles out and VERY CAREFULLY submerge in the dye. The dye is VERY HOT, use a spoon or utensil to move your fabrics around once they are in the dye.

Add more hot water to the dye bath in order to make sure you have enough liquid covering your fabrics.

Let your fabric sit for 24 hours. Once the dye has cooled down you can give it a few stirs and move the fabrics around with your hand to ensure even color.

After the fabrics have been soaking for 24 hours, remove them and squeeze any dye from the fabrics back in to the dye pot. You can always re use a dye pot for a second dye yielding lighter colors.

Rinse the fabrics in cold water until the water runs clear. Wring out and hang dry. Your colors will dry 2-3 shades lighter than when wet.

Bonus Iron Post Mordant Tutorial

Now for some more fun! Let’s turn some of those beautiful acorn browns into great grays.

For this you will need iron powder (sold at dye supply stores such as www.botanicalcolors.com) or you can make your own.

To make your own Iron Liquor Solution you will need:

Glass Jar ( I use an old peanut butter jar, but a mason jar works great) (you will never use this jar for anything other than iron liquor so don’t use anything you love)

Rusty things, such as old hardware. New iron nails work well too. You’ll need 5-6 medium size nails. (Be careful collecting rusty things and wear gloves)

Water and White Vinegar

Fill the jar with 1/3 vinegar and 2/3 water and add the rusty things or nails. Be patient and place in a dark place for 2 weeks.

Keep the lid loose. Air is needed in the jar to oxidize the iron into rust. In two weeks, the color of the iron liquor will have changed to a rusty brown and it's ready to use.

You can keep you iron liquor going by adding more water and vinegar to the jar after you have used some. This way you will always have iron on hand to modify your dyes.

Fill a pot or bucket (for dye ONLY) with two gallons of water and add a teaspoon to a tablespoon of your iron liquor. Give a stir with a spoon and add your wetted acorn dyed fabrics.

Watch the magic happen as your fabrics go from brown to gray! You can add a little more iron if you want a deeper color, but it doesn’t take much. A little goes a long way. Let your fabrics sit for about 20 minutes, wearing rubber gloves, squeeze out, rinse in cold water and hang dry.

Care for your naturally dyed clothes like you would any special piece of clothing. Hand or machine wash in cold water with a neutral pH soap and hang dry.

Acorn Dye

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