Stepping forward in time - mid 2nd century shoes

[M. Demetrius]

Oak galls and nut (walnut, pecan, hickory, for example) husks make easy to do brown dye. If you've ever handled green pecans or walnuts, you know already that they dye your fingers brown quite readily. Oak galls have to be smashed and steeped like strong tea to get the color out of them. Same would be true for the nut husks. Some say a little alcohol will quicken the extraction of the dye, and it boils off before the water in a pot. I've not tried the alcohol tincture, so I can't say first hand.

(*Don't use your wife's favorite soup pot, though, as you'll likely stain it and will certainly flavor it very unpleasantly. Use an empty gallon-sized can or something like that.*)

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/IN022
http://insects.tamu.edu/extension/bulletins/L-1299.html
http://www.basketmakers.org/topics/tuto ... nutdye.htm