Walnut husk
Herbs - Dyeing roots for infusions
Price range: 11,00€ through 35,00€
The walnut husk tells its colour like an ancient story: the dark skin enveloping the fruit holds tannins and pigments which, when infused, release a warm, earthy bath capable of transforming fibres and fabrics. In the slow, artisanal practices of natural dyeing, the husk is harvested fresh or dried, immersed in water and left to simmer patiently until the water takes on a deep hazelnut hue.
Fabrics, previously prepared with natural mordants or left to experiment on their own, absorb colour in different ways: wool and silk tend to receive richer and brighter shades, cotton, linen and hemp return softer and more opaque tones.
The colour yield depends on the infusion time, hull concentration, type of water and temperature, as well as the age and origin of the hull itself; the addition of a ferric solution can darken tones towards deep browns, while mordants such as alum maintain warmer tones.
Each hull bath is a ritual: one works slowly, observes the changes, accepts the unpredictability of nature-thus unique pieces are born, steeped in memory, sustainable and linked to the land that generated them.
Infusions
A infusion for dyeing is a colouring solution obtained from dyeing herbs, leaves or roots dried and chopped up to look like a herbal tea; they are put into hot water to extract the pigments and a colour bath is obtained in which yarns or fabrics are dipped for dyeing.
Doses and timing
Maeko avoids going into details concerning proportions, doses and specific times, leaving such information to those who already have experience in natural dyeing.
It is essential that those approaching this process have the freedom to experiment and adapt the techniques according to their own needs and experience.
Here we offer an extensive showcase, designed to encourage the practice of hand-dyeing and stimulate everyone's creativity.
