![]() When I’m done mordanting my fabric I use the leftover liquid to make a dye vat. ![]() gently rinse with cool water and hang to dry. Remove your fabric giving it a good squeeze. Allow the fabric to soak for 2-4 hours, giving it a stir every now and then. Give it a stir, put the lid back on, turn off the heat. In a large no reactive pot, dilute your tannin solution with enough water so the fabric can move around freely. Since there is no way of measuring the strength of your tannin solution, this is my general guideline for the amount of cellulose fabric to tannin solution. I suggest reading THE BEST WAY TO MAKE ACORN FLOUR by James Beard Award-winning author and chef Hank Shaw. If you want to make acorn flour, you’ll need to remove all the tannins. You can also get some of those big silicone ice cube trays and freeze it. I usually use mine within a couple of weeks so I don’t know how long you can actually store it in the fridge. This needs to be kept in the fridge or in a cool dark place otherwise it will ferment. You should have 3/4 of a gallon of strong tannin solution. Gently run a little more water over the bag and give it another squeeze. Continue squeezing until all the liquid has been released. You should see a thick cloudy substance draining out - these are the tannins. Pull the bag out while squeezing it at the same time. Let it drain through the bag and fill the container leaving some room. Using a faucet or hose, turn the water on gently, think small stream. I fasten the top of the bag to the lip of the jar with a rubber band or clothespin. Put the acorn meal into the nut milk bag. Place the acorn meat into a food processor and pulse them into a fine meal. I use the caps and shells to make lovely tans and soft grays with the addition of iron or rust water. Peel the shell off and add it to the pile of acorns caps. Remove the caps and shell the acorns by pounding and cracking their exterior with a rock or hammer. Wide-mouthed glass gallon jar or non-reactive vessel Extracting tannins from acorns is easy Hammer or smooth rock that fits comfortably in your hand for cracking acorn shells. What I like about the tannins you get from acorns is they’re almost colorless, creating the perfect blank canvas for color. I’m hoping to get more color saturation without the use of aluminum acetate, which can shift the color. I’ve started to experiment with mordanting cellulose fibers with just tannins when using plant matter such as tannin-rich maple leaves. The addition of tannins in the mordanting process will increase lightfastness and color saturation. Tannins are particularly useful when dyeing cellulose fibers. So if you have access to Live Oaks, Black Oaks, Red Oaks, White Oaks, Pin Oaks, or Oregon oaks get gathering! All acorns contain high amounts of tannins and can be used for making a tannin solution. I also have handfuls of interior live oak acorns. ![]() I use black oak acorns mostly because they’re everywhere by my house. I gather from both the ground and the trees. These have been the home of acorn weevil larva The meat of the acorns has already been eaten. Every morning on my walk I gather a pocket full, leaving the acorns with tiny holes on the ground. Black Oak acorns have been dropping from the trees for weeks and the Live Oak acorns are plumping up for the picking. It’s Fall in Northern California and I’ve been watching the acorns grow and ripen.
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