coconut test...

Post by **Howard** » Sat Mar 22, 2014 9:42 am

good morning...

here is a pix of a chopped straw test i recently completed...the red and green were dyed with RIT...

the white (more of a soft white) is the result of about 45 minutes of a bleach bath...

i have also dyed a sample of chopped straw with unsweetened orange kool aid...yes...kool aid...

will post pictures later when sample board is dry...along with a link to the kool aid dye info...

but i can tell you this...the color is not as intense as what RIT produces...it's a soft vintage orange...

going to try some other colors besides orange...

my very best regards...

Post by **Lynn** » Sat Mar 22, 2014 10:07 am

Hi Howard,

Your coconut looks fantastic. Orange kool aid I never would have thought about that. I know lots of plants make a real nice dye for wool goldenrod, onion skins, zinnia, marigold, coriopsis flowers, some berries just name a few. Not sure how any of these would work. As for me I will keep buying Petes, but it has been very interesting to read all about the process.

Post by **Lynn** » Sat Mar 22, 2014 6:12 pm

I just had another thought. I use Cushing dyes for dying wool. It is very much like Rite dyes. They have a rainbow of colors, 94 choices. Maybe these dyes would work?

Post by **maria** » Sat Mar 22, 2014 6:31 pm

I've heard that you can use inks too.

Post by **BrianB** » Sat Mar 22, 2014 8:14 pm

Love the pic, looks like an Italian Flag!

Your coco looks AWESOME...cant wait to see you use it on a house...I know it will be FANTASTIC!!!!

Clinton · Post by **Clinton** » Tue Sep 15, 2015 7:10 pm

Post by **Tom Hull** » Thu Sep 17, 2015 9:01 pm

I have been reading some of the discussion on rice straw vs wheat straw. But someone raised a good question (Paul I think) how DID the Japanese do it? Did they set around with scissors? They certainly had the patience for it.
or maybe we are just assuming it was rice straw and it was a different thing entirely. Today in the movement of things other than liquids through pipe lines they uses materials that will aid the movement of other materials through the pipe line. Perhaps what the Japanese used was something like that as it would be cheap and available. I noticed in a post by Pete that one of the rice straws had the color and look of the cardboard in the old Japanese houses and I know for sure they did use rice straw to make some of their cardboard. I have a box with a set of tea ceremony bowls that I purchased in Japan when I was there when in the military, and it appears to have been made out of the same material as the houses and as it was an "artisan" made box it was likely from handmade rice cardboard. I had a neighbor lady who went back to college and got her masters degree making paper and card from wheat straw and it had both the hue and quality of the old cardboard in the houses. Distinctly yellow and somewhat coarse with unrefined bits in it.

Post by **Howard** » Thu Sep 17, 2015 9:36 pm

Will...the straw i use is from a hobby lobby "wreath"...I seem to remember the product came from Mexico...so there is no telling what it really is...all I know is that it works for me...it is readily available and very inexpensive...

Tom...I tend to agree with you...the actual product they used...(straw, if some kind)...could well have been a "leftover" from another process...like you said...had to be cheap and available...guess we will never know for sure...

Clinton · Post by **Clinton** » Thu Sep 17, 2015 9:51 pm

Post by **BrianB** » Thu Sep 17, 2015 10:31 pm

Hi Will, I too use the wreaths from H.L. and they are able to be bleached bright white, without the loss of any shiny, and without the antiquing discoloration, to achieve a look just like the original houses. Also how you dry it will make all the difference in the world. I recommend trying different types of bleach and getting the timing just right is essential. I have definitely ruined several batches but finally found something that worked for me.
Glad you're experimenting, cant wait to see your progress, and how the rice straw turns out!! It is exciting to see how others unravel the mysteries!!
Good luck to you!!!
I've attached some pics, you can also see it on some of the houses Ive built in the past on the forum here. The coco in the pics is still wet and that is why its clumped together.
-Brian