Questions I have gotten on this process, now all in one place for your informational edification and enjoyment.
Q: Why don't you dye it before you stretch it like that video I saw on social media? Why don't you dye it on the herse but before it dries?
A: That video is from a commercial parchment company that uses a lot of machinery and mass-production. They do not dry scrape or sand their parchment after drying and before shipping to the consumer. That means the consumer has to do the prep work. My parchment is shipped ready to use; all the scraping and sanding is done by me by hand.
Dyeing after the parchment is dry and has been completely processed is the best way I have found to get high-quality parchment with a high-quality dye job.
Q: Why do you dye the parchment under tension?
A: To get good dye coverage, the parchment has to be rewet pretty thoroughly. If it was not under tension when dyed, the parchment would buckle and warp and shrink up and not be usable.
Q: How do I maximize dye coverage?
A: Make sure your ink is strong. A weak or grayish ink cannot give a strong black dye. Proportion of tannic or gallo-tannic acid to ferrous sulfate is important.
Be prepared to rub or scrub the first coat of dye into the surface of the parchment. The hair side especially may resist moisture at first, depending on how much sanding it needed.
Apply the ink thickly enough to wet the parchment, but not to run or drip. Rivulets will leave marks.
Try soaking the hide in a slightly acidic bath before stretching. A spoonful of your acid or a few handfuls of oak leaves or acorns can help.
Q: Why are you dyeing with ink, which includes gum Arabic as a thickener, instead of a "true" dye without it?
A: My herses are built into the underside of my deck and are not moveable. They are vertical and staying that way. In my experience, the gum Arabic helps with dye adhesion by keeping the solution on the surfacelong enough to absorb. YMMV.
Q: Where can I buy real black dyed parchment? I love myself too much to do this on my own.
Q: How do I do this at home with boughten parchment?
A: You need to rewet/soak the parchment in water until floppy. Stretch on a frame either by punching holes or using pippins. You WILL lose space on every side. Scrape and tighten. Let it dry. Scrape and sand both sides until it has the finish you want (depending on the particular hide and size this can take 30 minutes or 4 hours). Then follow the dyeing procedure in the previous blog post for 2 or 3 coats.
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