Black Walnut Dye

Making walnut dye is a pretty simple project. All you need are some walnuts, something to boil water in, and something to dye. Walnut dye is great for dying any natural material like cotton, wool, leather, wood, etc.

I started by collecting some freshly fallen black walnuts. I brought home a couple of large tin cans from work. I used some wire to make a bail handle on one so I could hang it over the fire. I built up a fire in the backyard and hung the pot from a tripod. I put the green walnuts in the can and filled it with water leaving an inch of space at the top. I let it boil over the fire for an hour and a half stirring it once in a while.

I decided to dye an old white bandana. I removed the walnuts from the dye and added the bandana making sure all of it was saturated. I put the pot next to the fire and let it simmer for about 30 minute. Again, I kept stirring it occasionally.

I pulled the dyed bandana out the can and rinsed it thoroughly with the hose to remove excess dye. It turned out a really nice light brown color. After letting it dry and washing it I am very pleased with how it turned out.