as a spin off from kakishibuzome i i have developed an interest on tannins.
apparently all tannins are not made equal. for starters i went to my chemist around the corner and he produced two different kinds; water soluble and alcohol soluble.the water soluble is much lighter, vanilla ice cream color and the alcohol soluble is walnut ink colored.he could not explain the difference other than the vehicle for dissolution.
i had bought the tannins to mordant the cotton yarns i used for the loom controlled shibori i wove last april which coincidentally it still has to meet the scissors.
but right now as a result of the pattern drafting frenzy i had a white linen for a dress. it was actually way too white and being hesitant that it would multiply my size visually i used some of the water tannin to tone it down.
i dissolved a tablespoon in 250 centiliters of water and added the liquid to the portable washing machine filled it with hot water and ran it for half an hour and the rinsed it.
the results are visible in the photo above. slight cream color, actually ivory color .
this will be cut up and sewn as yet another summer dress.in the meantime the research on tannins will continue. perhaps the alcohol tannin will act in a way similar to kakishibu? oh cheekiness!!oh heresy!!
neki desu
I used white oak bark, bought from an herb store, as a tannin soak for some shockingly white polished cotton..... got a lovely cream color!
ReplyDeleteSeveral natural dyes are also good sources of tannin, without lending too much color to the fiber: myrobalan comes to mind, which has a cool pale greenish gold tone on its own. Also chestnut, in a very low dose (otherwise you get a warm tan).
ReplyDeleteAnd, I've dyed many a bra or panties with strong black tea, just to make the white a bit less so.
Buona idea tingere il tessuto, mi piace questa tonalità crema per il lino. Mi sembra anche più 'naturale' di un bianco troppo bianco.
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