Poke Berry dye

[Lucky Buckeye]

I got a bunch of stuff from One Blanket Trader. A hunting shirt and the frock are painters dropcloth white so I think I will tone them down. Any of yall tried Poke Berries for a dye? Might be right purdy 

[DandJofAZ]

Not tried...I just wore mine to a rondy and got dirt, powder smoke, food, coffee etc spilled on it ...colored off white real quick..

Doug

[Lucky Buckeye]

I guess most folks that want to dye stuff use Rit. Probably the easiest and safest  way to color the way you want without  destroying your high dollar outfit .

[Red Badger]

Actually most of us use coffee, tea, or walnut... Some use rit,

Occasionally I have heard of the "pull behind truck for a mile on dirt road" method being used... so I guess it comes down to what you feel comfortable with -

Being in an area where Poke berries are unheard of - what color are they? 

Also when we start trying to dye something we generally try something small and inexpensive at first to keep from ruining the expensive stuff.

[hotfxr]

I seem to dye my shirts with coffee about once a week.     I'm starting to just buy brown shirts now.

[Lucky Buckeye]

Actually most of us use coffee, tea, or walnut... Some use rit,

Occasionally I have heard of the "pull behind truck for a mile on dirt road" method being used... so I guess it comes down to what you feel comfortable with -

Being in an area where Poke berries are unheard of - what color are they? 

Redish / Purple, same as the stalks. The leaves look like tobacco leaves. BTW, berries are poison. You can eat the greens but they taste like sh_t.

[Red Badger]

Lucky, thanks for the information - I don't believe I have ever seen a poke berry plant. Learn somthin new every day around here!

Hotfixer... Wear a bib and you won't have that issue... but never mind there is a duel whic will solve the issue :)

[pilgrim]

      BTW, berries are poison.

     Since the berries are poisonous,  And the berries are crushed to make the dye, what are the chances that the Poke berry dye could be absorbed into the wearers skin?   Results could be the same as eating the berries,  still get into the blood stream???


     http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phytolacca_americana

[beowulf]

check this out !  http://www.cancer.org/treatment/treatmentsandsideeffects/complementaryandalternativemedicine/herbsvitaminsandminerals/pokeweed

[pilgrim]

    very interesting Beowulf.  Appears the berries have been used as a dye for many years with no ill affect.    Apparently the berries MUST be cooked.  And  a hot/ slightly cooled  dye mix should help color material all the better. 


     What  we don't learn on TMotC.    University of Traditional Muzzleloaders on the Cheap

[Hanshi]

Having lived in Ga for 62 years I know very well the poke-berry bush.  Most parts of the plant are very poisonous.  The new growth leaves, however, are known as "poke salad".  They are voiled twice with the first boil drained off and then cooked again much like collards.  The berries are dark purple and the plant is rather attractive.  Tony Joe White recorded a song "Poke Salad Annie" which is very popular.

[Bulldog lady]

A lot of recipes for dyeing suggest/recommend the addition of white vinegar.  eg easter eggs  ,don't recall a faded egg!  many of native dyes have a natural acid or also suggest additons.   I threw some in when using koolaid to dye some quills  Just my 2 cents worth.

[txclass]

I have some Poke growing here on the property.  soon as they berry out I will try poke dyeing on Muslin and Linen  and report the results.  I am also going to try to dye withe Coreopsis (tickseed).

I am fascinated with  old natural dye recipes

[Patocazador]

My daughter made a science project that dealt with natural dyes.
Most any natural material will give up a dye if extracted with the right solvent. She tried water, iso-propyl alcohol, vinegar and acetone. By far, the richest colors were produced with dyes extracted with alcohol or acetone. However, these colors are not color-fast and will run and fade easily when cotton cloth is dyed with them.

Poke berry and sumac flowers gave her the darkest red colors but they were sort of a pinkish red.
Goldenrod, walnut hulls, blackberries, etc. all gave a coloring to the material but the colors weren't very vibrant in most instances.

[Rev]

Sounds like you need a mordant. Like alum...
"a substance used in dyeing to fix the coloring matter, especially a metallic compound, as an oxide or hydroxide, that combines with the organic dye and forms an insoluble colored compound or lake in the fiber."