Native americans used to make a high vitamin c tea out of it, that is very tasty and kinda like lemonaid in flavor.
That the red berries are good to eat and the plants with white ones are toxic and can cause contact dermatitis, much like poison ivy or poison oak.
That stands of staghorn sumac are all over the place in my area.
That it's best to harvest the bright red berries after they are ripe but before the fall rains wash away all their pink, acidic goodness.
And lastly, that the dye produced is very ph sensitive... how much I don't know, I have tests yet to run, but, I know that you can turn it from a cheerful pink to a teal-ish grey by simply bringing the liquor down in ph with soap or baking soda. To keep the pinks this fiber must be washed with vinegar only. light and wash fastness also will be tested soon.
So ok... here's the pretty pictures and the process...
- I broke the berries off of their stems into an old aluminum pot, 410g
- skeined up wool 50g, worsted weight and chained up some cotton, 5 g
- added water and let the berries sit for 2 hours, added more water and brought slowly to a simmer, 30 min
- washed my wool with Bronners lavender soap, rinsed it and then soaked it in hot water with alum 2 tbsp
- removed berrries and fuzz from dye pot with a strainer
- brought wool up to same temp as dyepot, gently rung water out and then put wool and cotton into dye pot, Simmer 30 min
- allow to cool over night
- Rinsed when wet (I might not do this next time)
- Hang to dry in inside
The cotton stayed bright and pink, the wool's red rinsed out, mostly ending up as a nice, warm, tawny yellow. Almost a tanned skin-tone.
Rinsed again after drying for a few days, with no noticeable bleeding.
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