Dying with Pomegranates

At Christmas we had a few pomegranates.  They seem like such a seasonal fruit with their crimson skins and luscious seeds sparkling red.  Then I discovered that dying paper and cloth with the skins and pith of the pomegranates can produce a most rewarding colour.  Funnily enough yellow !  So with a bit of internet research I came up with a recipe of sorts but really by trial and error.So here are the skins and pith soaking in water for two-three weeks to soften and ease up.  I then mashed them up to extract more of the necessary ‘juices’ to produce a good colour.  The softened pomegranates were then boiled, strained and alum mordant added.The fabric added to the dye bath and left overnightPaper dipped into the dye bath.  I left the paper in for approximately 10 minutes and that gave a good colour.

The paper is dried, pressed overnight and ready to bind into some sort of book.  I think the paper will justify a vibrant piece of leather and suede.