How to Make Dye From a Black Walnut Tree

Use black walnut hulls to yield an environmentally safe brown dye.

If you have developed an interest in dyeing but don't like to use environmentally toxic chemicals, it's easy to dye yarn and fabric from plant materials growing in your own neighborhood. One of the easiest and most colorfast of these natural dyes comes from black walnut hulls. Make sure you absolutely love a durable brown color, though. Black walnut dye stains permanently anything it comes in contact with. Wear latex gloves to protect your hands.

Things You'll Need

• Black walnut hulls
• Water
• Alum (optional)
• Discarded nylon stocking or old pillowcase
• An enameled or stainless steel pot
• Stove
• Latex or rubber gloves
• Dowel rod
• Rags
• Sturdy wooden dowel
• Large glass jar or jug

Instructions

Walnut Dye

1. 

   Black walnuts still in hulls on tree

   Gather one pound of green walnuts in September and October for each gallon of dye you want to make. From this point forward, wear latex gloves and protect your clothing and surrounding surfaces. Remove the nuts from the greenish outer hull and save the nuts for consumption. Put one pound of hulls in an old stocking or pillowcase and tie the top shut.

2. Place one gallon of water, preferably rainwater or distilled water, in a large enamel or stainless steel pot. Tap water may have chemicals in it that could give off-colored dye. For the same reason, only use only pots that won't react chemically with the dye.

3. 

   Walnut hulls yield shades of brown.

   Place the bagged walnuts hulls in the water and simmer on the stove for half an hour. Allow to stand for three or four days, then remove and discard the hulls. Strain the liquid through another old pillowcase. Wear your gloves and take care not to get any of the dye on your clothing or other surfaces. Immediately wipe off any spilled dye with a damp rag.

4. Use the dye just as it is, or add a bit of alum to the dyebath to get various shades of brown. By itself, black walnut dye gives a dark brown. A teaspoon of alum will yield a slightly lighter shade, while amounts up to a tablespoon will yield increasing lighter browns.

5. Place wool yarn or fabric into the walnut-hull bath and heat slowly just to the simmering point, stirring regularly with a dowel rod to make sure the dyeing is even and reaches all parts of the fiber.

6. If dyeing silk, cotton, or natural fibers other than wool, you can add them after you've heated the dyebath. Simmer and stir until the fiber looks slightly darker than the shade you want. The color lightens on drying. Allow the fiber to dry overnight.

Tips & Warnings

• Put the whole walnuts in their hulls in a trash bag, tie it shut, lay it in the driveway, and drive your car over it a few times. This is an easy way to crush the very hard hulls, making their separation from the walnuts a simple task.

• Wear latex gloves when handling black walnut hulls. They yield a quick-setting dark brown dye that stains anything on contact. For the same reason, protect your work area with plastic drop cloths.

• Use pots dedicated only to dyeing. Never cook food in a pot that has been used for dyeing. Black walnuts and alum are not poisonous, but it's a good practice to follow for safety's sake.

References

• wnit.org
• Smithsonian Institute
• Cherokee Natural Dyes