Boots in Gallnut Tannin Scarf

Pam Juarez

Each scarf is silkscreen printed in Kjipuktuk, Nova Scotia, using paper stencils and thickened mordants made from scratch. Mordants are chemicals that help natural dyes bind to fibre. Depending on what mordant is used, the natural dye will react to it and bind to the fibre as a different colour when submerged in a natural dye bath. Five different mordant mixes using alum, iron and tannin, and a natural dye bath were used to give this scarf colour.

Gallnut Tannin

Gallnuts or nutgalls are nut-like growths that form on oak or sumac trees. They are rich in tannins, naturally occurring compounds that are excellent natural dyes and mordants. Tannins are produced by many species of plants and give wine, tea and coffee their astringent taste.