Leather dye & the elusive mordant

[casyis]

Hi, folks.

This is my first time posting here, and there's a lot of new things I've learned just by reading many posts. I now have a dilemma and I hoping someone can help.

I'm a traditional bookbinder, and I severely dislike aniline dyed leather -- it tends to corrode and I want to pursue a more traditional method of dyeing the leather myself using natural and fermented dyes, such as walnut and oak bark. I've experienced some success in using cochineal, madder and some others and have achieved some truly amazing coloring formulae... but here's my dilemma:

I can only color the leather after the book has been bound, the leather shrinkage having taken place. Then I mark it up and proceed to coloring according to pattern. The problem I have is that many of my dyes don't take well... pre-mordanting or post-mordanting the leather hasn't yielded anything useful so far. I'm almost convinced that the mordant must be added to the dye itself prior to coloring. Do you have any advice for producing a natural dye that can be brush-applied to leather (or with cotton)?

Also, the mordants. I've tried almost every mordant mentioned in natural dyeing... alum, tin, tamarind, ferrous sulfate (not one I wanted anyway), etc... and the colors don't stay lightfast. There is a master binder who uses natural dyes to color his books, but he's been at it so long he is very secretive about his work. I have no reason, though, to disbelieve him when he said, "the mordant you're looking for is not generally available, it's one I discovered/developed 30 years ago." But no clues. I'm at my wit's end, and I want my work to last. Do you know of any strange or elusive mordants?

Here's a photo (not taken by me) of the exact effect I'm trying to achieve:
http://img264.imageshack.us/img264/9363/bookbinding8t.jpg

After much research and many, many attempts this past year, I'm at my wit's end and am looking for new things to try or a direction to pursue.

Any information would be gratefully received.

Thanks,
C.

 

[John Fenna]

Hello and welcome!
Sorry - I can't help with the mordant problem, but I am sure someone will come along and help you here.

 

[Toddy]

Hello Casyis and welcome to the forum.

I have been looking for a contact within the historical leatherwork research group for you since it strikes me that they might well know more since their research covers the coloured leathers of the past, and many of the best preserved old leathers we have are on books.

If anyone else can help, please do so

cheers,
M

 

[casyis]

Hello, Toddy.

--Thanks. I've scoured the 'net and some historical books that I've been able to find, and so far not much on natural dyeing... at least, it seems that certain key ingredients had been left out of published formulae, so it's all trial and error. I sure hope someone out there has a working knowledge.

Cheers,
H>

 

[casyis]

If it helps, I thought I should post a photo of where I am with leather coloring and what I’ve tried so far with natural and fermented dyes.

Here’s my first attempt at hand-coloring a book (hence the erroneous splash):
http://img87.imageshack.us/img87/9239/example1e.jpg

The only natural dye I used was madder for the red panel. The others are period dyes, but all that salt (potassium carbonate and ferrous sulphate) worries me, and it’s been shown that these cause the leather to corrode internally, which is why I typically stay away from using them unless trying to match a specific period binding.

So far my (unsuccessful) process – using walnut hulls, oak bark and horse chestnut – is as follows:

I boil the material to extract the dye, then allow it to ferment for several weeks in jars, agitating and scraping the mold each week. Once done, I strain, then attempt to color. In the fermentation process I’ve also tried adding a wee bit of yeast with no appreciable difference. I don’t know for how long I need to ferment the dye… perhaps months, then strain, then ferment again. I’m unsure on this.

I’m also not sure about additives. Using the example I posted previously, the successful coloring appears shiny, suggesting an oil base or perhaps grain alcohol. I’ve not yet tried to soak the hulls or bark in grain alcohol, but I plan to, instead of boiling. The delivery mechanism is key for this, I think – aside from oil and alcohol, I’m having trouble coming up with another mixture. Once I figure that out, with or without help (hopefully with), I imagine I could apply the same general method for other dyes. I think it would be wonderful to color a book using fermented black plum skins, for instance.

Thanks in advance for any advice, tips, direction, etc.

C.

 

[Toddy]

Casyis, I don't know if this will help, but, don't take the mould and fungus out until the last moment and then add alcohol to kill them and strain. It makes a great dye, the fungus helps break down the tough cells in fruit skins and the like to give a richer dye colour. It's how I can get a fast purple from elderberries. Long, slow fermentation breaks out the cyanins in the skins.

There are also the dyes such as Alkanet. This isn't soluble in water or alcohol, but in oil or wax the colour floods out. Leather is absorbant, the oils will nourish as well as dye it and they will dry down like oil paint or burnish like linseed oil or beeswax on wood.

cheers,
Toddy

 

[casyis]

Thanks -- that is helpful, I will be sure to try that and post my results when I have a batch ready. (I've a jar with stuff that's been fermenting for a few months that I've left untouched.)

Also, your reference to Alkanet got me thinking that perhaps I should try an emulsion of dye with oil... eggs are always on hand in any traditional bindery, as the albumen acts as an adhesive for gold leaf. Along those lines, the yolk cannot be used, but can be used as an emulsifier. *brain wheels working*

 

[The Cumbrian]

I had no interest at all in this subject ( or knowledge that it existed ) until about two minutes ago.

It'll probably push some stuff out of my brain that I actually need, but I find it fascinating, so keep it coming.

Welcome to the forum by the way.

Cheers, Michael.

 

[Toddy]

There's one other thought that comes to mind.
Native American women dyed their leather using mineral pigments that were absorbed onto the brain (egg or oil nowadays) tanned skins. Apparantly they obtain bright reds, rusts and greens using this method.
I read an C18th account that described a woman rubbing her newly sewn boots with 'ironstone' to make them a good red.

cheers,
Toddy

 

[casyis]

So far no success using egg yolk as an emulsifier, at varying strengths along with the dye liquor, and some oil. Several different combinations all resulted in me just painting the leather surface

This is from a book by Master Bookbinder Joseph Zaehnsdorf, as an example:

"For a plain brown dye, the green shells of walnuts may be used. They should be broken as much as possible, mixed
with water, and allowed to ferment. This liquid should be strained and bottled for used. Salt thrown in will help to keep it. This does not in any way corrode the leather, and produces the best uniform tint."

I know for a fact that this formulae doesn't work; there's some key ingredient missing (I'm not the only binder who has noticed this -- there's one out there who spent some time correcting the formulae, but won't give it up).

I'll have to do some research on what emulsifiers may have been on hand in a book bindery in the 17th and 18th centuries. I know vegetable dyes (fermented) had been used, but that's it at this point.

--Thanks for the info about Native American dyeing... I'll look into it.

 

[Toddy]

The native American pigment dyes are metal salts.
Those same salts are also mordants in their own right.
The five classic mordants are Iron, Alum, Copper, Tin and Chrome.
Then we have the adjusters, the acid/alkali shifters, from vinegar and tartaric acid to washing soda, ammonia and lye.

Water, oil, wax, ammonia, sugar, vinegar, alcohol......all used to pull a dye from plant materials.

I've just checked one of the Victorian manufacturing books and it seems to use sulphuric acid in virtually every leather dye recipe.

I haven't used this for dyeing, but I know that soot was often used as a kind of fixer as well as a dye in it's own right.

cheers,
Toddy

 

[casyis]

Excellent information -- thank you!

I need to backtrack some and ask a question about proper fermentation. I've been using Ball jars. Should I leave the lid snug, or cover it with cheesecloth or other breathe-able fiber and allow the fermentation jar access to the air so as to vent?

Also, should it be continually sealed/covered, or should I agitate now and then?

This thread has been a great help already.

Thanks,
C.

 

[casyis]

Ack, I forgot a question in my last post -- excuse me.

In proportion to the contents of the jar, how much alcohol is advisable to add before straining?

Thanks,
C.

 

[Toddy]

I found out about the fementation dye by happenchance. I got busy. Too busy, and the dye was abandoned in a huge lidded (not airtight) jar left under the garden bench at the back door. It sat for months with the occasional poke with a stick and the certainty that it was going to the compost heap when I had time to wash it all out.
It grew the most beautiful lavender coloured fungus / mould on top though, and eventually I couldn't resist just trying it; and the colour was amazing, a rich deep true, fast, purple

The alcohol I didn't need because I boiled up the strained dye but if you're using it straight you'd be best killing off those fungus and moulds. Couple of tablespoonsful per pint should do it, I'd have thought.

cheers,
Toddy

 

[casyis]

Very helpful -- thank you!

So it will be some time before I attempt coloring again so as to allow my stuff to ferment for an adequate amount of time. I'll need fairly strong liquor to color the leather.

Going back to the mordant issue...

I've been going over it again and again, and it occurs to me that the mordanting procedure may be more of a process than an additive. Maybe. I'm trying to avoid heavy metals and mineral salts so as to keep the leather from corroding over time. Here's my theory, born from my mother being a batik artist... it's a long-shot, but here goes:

Once colored, apply melted (liquid) emulsified wax (perhaps mixed with tallow) to the leather and allow it to soak in and set. As the coloration dries internally the color draws upward and is "fixed" by the emulsified, waxed fibers of the skin. I can then continue to use this by performing my normal tooling operations... the tallow/wax would allow for a richer, burnished look to the tooled areas. Then wash off the wax from the surface with warm water and continue as normal in the binding process (pastewash, leaf, glaze, polish).

Hm.

 

[lannyman8]

this is a great thread and im a begginer at dyeing. but this is awesome and i have learned so much just from this thread......

so THANK YOU Casyis and as always Toddy the jack of all trades, awesome as always......

regards.

chris...............................

 

[Toddy]

..........
I've been going over it again and again, and it occurs to me that the mordanting procedure may be more of a process than an additive.....
Once colored, apply melted (liquid) emulsified wax (perhaps mixed with tallow) to the leather and allow it to soak in and set. As the coloration dries internally the color draws upward and is "fixed" by the emulsified, waxed fibers of the skin. I can then continue to use this by performing my normal tooling operations... the tallow/wax would allow for a richer, burnished look to the tooled areas. Then wash off the wax from the surface with warm water and continue as normal in the binding process (pastewash, leaf, glaze, polish).

Hm.

Sounds sensible "All things in their time", actually, that's another point worth remembering. If you raise the temperature of a reaction by 10degC it cuts the time of the reaction in half. So maybe warming the whole thing up might help. I do know that traditional Japanese dyers laid cloth aside for years sometimes with the dyestuff carefully painted onto the cloth, so the reverse is sort of possible too. Time works, basically

I've raked through some of my records and here are some active on-line links.

http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/24076

http://www.elizabethancostume.net/dyes/stockholm.html#comarum

http://www.elizabethancostume.net/dyes/innsbruck/

cheers,
Toddy

 

[casyis]

Fantastic! I've bookmarked the links. I appreciate all of your help, and your note on temperature vs. reaction time gives me high hopes.

If I might venture another question (for anyone): Is there a recommended boiling time for the dyestuff? I've read anywhere from 1 hour to even 6 (sometimes all day/night). I wouldn't want to render the stuff un-usable is why I ask.

Time for the wax/tallow & control test.

 

[casyis]

Update: early results on the mordant test are very positive. So far the control has faded and the treated pieces haven't budged at all. I'll post pictures when I am more confident.

 

[Toddy]

Well that sounds hopeful

cheers,
M