A couple of days ago I made walnut ink. I had only done it once before and loved it, but I had only made a tiny amount, so I wanted to go for it and see if I could make enough to last the year.
I use the ink for painting primarily, but also for dying fabric. It makes cotton such a beautiful linen color that I’ve really begun to use it a lot. So to me it’s worth the effort.
I began with a bag full of walnuts. I try to use only the freshest green ones because anything else is usually filled with tiny inch worms that are really very cute and I have huge guilt taking them from their feasts…a last supper if you will. So when I could hear the walnuts falling from the open windows at the house, I knew it was time to go collecting.
All I had to do was stand near a group of trees and they came down all around me. It’s really not a big deal to find fresh if you live near a forest. If you’re in the midwest, go NOW!
First you need to soak them for a few hours, then husk them. You only need the green husk and can give the walnuts back to the squirrels…or eat them if you like them. I use an old farm fork which serves triple purpose. It holds the walnuts under the water while soaking, it is perfect for piercing the husk so you can peel them (just prop it up so the tines are straight up, then run the walnut down, like a seam ripper.) And I leave them (I threw two in, but any old rusty metal will do) in the water while the husks are soaking to add an additional depth of color.
I do it a bit differently than most people on the internet. I’m not a fan of boiling them in the house, so I soak them for about 24 hours then strain them through cheese cloth into a large canning pot (not something for food) and bring that inside to boil down to a concentrate. While it’s boiling down, use a stick to stir it. It will stain everything, so the stick is perfect. Don’t leave it in while it’s boiling though, the sap will seep into your ink.
I boiled it for about 3 hours, give or take. I had 3-4 gallons of water initially and about 60 walnuts. I ended up with two large canning jars of ink.
This is everything I used in the process. Those are old farm forks. And the “strainer” is a hanging planter that I had just cleaned for fall. It worked perfectly with the cheesecloth. Wear gloves, no matter what. These were ancient and giant, but they did the trick. The cheesecloth I used was food grade, but it was probably overkill, the cheap stuff would be perfect too. (It was white when I started, so you have an idea of the color it will dye fabric.) And a stick to stir. Everything came clean afterwards. Except the stick…because it’s a stick.
Here are a few doodles I did. Just playing to see it’s range. The fabric in the background is unrinsed cotton I dyed with what was left in the pot after the jars were full.
If you’re going to store it for long, add a couple of whole cloves to keep it from molding. And if you want to thicken it, add gum arabic powder until it’s the thickness you want.
All in all it was actually a great day. It came together easily, and even though it’s messy for a minute, it was totally worth it for me. I may do one more batch. Though I probably don’t need to.
I hope you guys are having a great beginning to your autumn. The trees are just beginning to change here. I was down by the river yesterday and the colors are beginning to reflect. Hopefully I’ll have some pictures for you.
Sending love,
xo
