I began this writing when the green persimmons began to fall.
Working with the hard green Persimmon from diospyros virginiana necessitates that I must find ways to handle my dyes around shifting weather. I do not have endless days of sunshine. There have been sporadic night rains, multiple days of rolling thunder storms and high humidity here leaving dew upon the grasses until mid day. I live in the woods.
I became intrigued with the idea of taking hard green persimmons and using them as a substantive dye known as Kakishibu that can be used fresh or fermented for a few years before using. I tell how I came to experiment with green persimmons in Quilters Comfort Astringent Persimmon Dye, a 2023 blog post. In my search, I came across Loop of the Loom and Ana Lisa Hedstrom on Youtube. Thus far, I have primarily worked with my own hard green persimmons.
It is from Korean writings and videos that I gathered most of my information about fresh dyeing with green astringent persimmons. It is not necessary to mordant for persimmon astringent to dye. I have seen a few Korean dye artist who included the use of alum in their process. Do your own test to see what works for you. Next year, I think that I will see how things work out when processed with a juicer.
After a year of washing, my persimmon dyed tee shirts have deepened into brown tones such as this.
I am currently dyeing bamboo rayon, cotton tee shirts and yardage, silk and socks. My dye bath is prepared from just covering with set out water (water left out to allow chlorine to evaporate) and whatever hard green persimmons that have dropped down from three trees along my driveway. If you can collect it, rain water is reputed best for your natural dyes.