“Coconut”: Dyeing
This article is a supplement to our “Secret of Coconut” article, which describes various ways modern hobbyists have attempted to reproduce a certain kind of fuzzy-looking coating on vintage cardboard Christmas “putz” houses.
Note: These articles are based on notes from a number of putz house builders and restorers who’ve attempted to replicate the original finish to use on their own construction. We’re publishing them because the questions keep coming in. But we did want to point out that none of the people who contributed to the article (including me) have any intention whatsoever to make this stuff to sell commercially - there are a lot of easier ways to make a living, and there’s already a fellow - Pete Oehman, who makes a better product than I ever will. We’ve done our best to give you the information you need to “roll your own,” but if you’d rather finish that structure than learn a new skill, or if you need to match a difficult color, contact Pete through CardboardPutzHouses.com and tell him we sent you.
Most folks today are experimenting with straw that is rough cut, then chopped to size in some sort of blender or food processor or other kitchen device.
Once the material (usually straw) is chopped and sifted repeatedly until you have a batch of fairly consistent sized flakes, it’s time to add color. The Japanese who built these charming houses probably used natural dyes such as onion skin and berry juices, but modern hobbyists trying to recreate those colors have tried all sorts of methods. One contributor has been known to use “Magic Marker juice” to get a color that seemed otherwise unobtainable. Most contributors, however, use more conventional sources of color, such as Rit brand clothing dye. (For tips on using bleach if you want a white or a least whiter result, see our Coconut: Bleaching notes.)
Different approaches to dyeing have also been tried. One contributor makes little muslin “teabags” for the coconut and suspends them in colored liquid. One of the Rit dye users has sent me a process that other folks have used successfully:
Start by collecting those little soft plastic containers that you get sour cream, spreadable butter or cottage cheeze in. I try to keep 2 or 3 fresh ones on hand.
I also use a metal mesh, reusable coffee filter. These sometimes come with coffeemakers.
Supplies include a good supply of table salt and the dye of your choice. I usually use Rit, though sometimes I experiment with other brands when I can’t get exactly the color I want with Rit. By the way, Rit has tips and recipes for mixing to get certain colors on their web page.
Here are the steps I use:
- Pre-dampen the straw. (One other respondent includes a drop of dishwashing detergent in the pre-dampening stage, it reduces surface tension that can cause floaters and keep the dye from doing its job on some flakes.)
- Fill about half the sour cream container with sifted straw.
- Boil about 2 1/2 cups of water in the microwave. ( I don't use it all, but it's nice to have extra.)
- Pour boiling water over straw until it’s about a 1/4 inch over top of straw. Some of the bits will float, but if you pour slowly, they will get wet as well.
- Put in about a 1/4 of a teaspoon of dye in as a starter. It is very easy to make it too dark. Also every color seems to differ, so I use 1/4 of a teaspoon as a starter.
Note: The biggest challenge - and I just do it by eye - is not getting too much dye in the water. I can not stress enough how easy it is to go too dark! I have had very few failed attempts with this method.Add two shakes of table salt, stir it really good, then try to put the lid on the container fast. I like to trap the steam from the hot water. I’m not sure, but I think it helps the color to soak into the “floaters.”
- Let it sit for 45 minutes.
- Put the metal coffee filter in the drain of your sink. The one I have is a perfect fit. Pour the contents of the container slowly into the filter, trying not to splash - the dye may temporarily stain your sink.
- Rinse with cold water for about 1 minute. I think this step is important. It gets all left over dye off and the color is less likely to bleed when you apply the finished product.
- Press all the rest of the water out of the mix. I use the backside of a spoon while it is still in filter.
Other methods for pressing the water out of the mix have been tried as well - one is included in the page on drying.
What if You Get Things Too Dark?
Okay, you didn’t believe us when we said it was too easy to get things darker than you meant to. Here’s one contributor’s response:
I'm going to let you in on a little secret I discovered and forgot to tell you if you make a batch too dark. It wont hurt the shiny at all. Rit makes a color remover. On my first batch of pink I did it came out a deep magenta, and I put it in the color remover for only 5 seconds and then immediately rinsed it off in cold water and I got the exact color I was hoping for.
HOWEVER..on the red batch I did, it didn't quite work that well and I was left with a really wonky orange color. I was able to re-dye it though and got a orangish red that was rather nice.
Another thing....If I have a color that doesn't turn out just right I keep it...especially if its a blue or green...they work awesome if you mix it with white for bases.
Conclusion
You may find an entirely different method that works for you. Many hobbyists have. These pages are just to give you some ideas for things to try.
If you’re looking for one good proven method that will work for everybody, this may not be what you were looking for. But so far there’s not single “best practice” that works for everybody, regardless of their skills, interests, and resources.
In other words “Do try this at home.” And when you do, feel free to report your results on the Coconut page of our forums.
In the meantime, I look forward to hearing and seeing the results of your experiments, with this or any other aspects of putz collecting, displaying, restoring, or creating.
Paul Race
CardboardChristmas.com
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