walnut dyed

My washing line of dyed fabric; last week when the sun shone. Today is cloudy, rainy, and dreach, as the scots say. Nearest is a piece of silk from a child's silk bridesmaid dress, that I got in a charity shop in Eyemouth in the summer. It's dyed in the woad dye-pot I've been using recently.

Here is the same silk, this time dyed using walnut husks. It's beautifully mottled.

 Here is the same silk dyed from walnuts.

And here are the walnuts! They were really easy to peel, though I did take the precaution of wearing rubber gloves. Boiled 'em up, and dunked in the silk. I managed to pop a couple of pieces of cotton in too, but I do admit that the silk has taken the dye so much better. I then went into a frenzy of walnut dye-ing; and put another piece of silk in the pot. And some more silk into what remains of the woad. I think the dress is about used up now, so I'm going to have to be on the lookout in charity shops for more second hand silk clothes.