Horse Chestnut, natural 'soap' & natural dye

[@mandylavida]

I love that mossy green!😊

[@debvoz]

I found if very amusing that the dye colors ended up matching the cat very closely. The creamy cinnamon shades and the cream color looked like it was intentional.

[@LitoGeorge]

For the natural dyeing community: I took horse chestnut leaves, steeped for a day then boiled them. After cooling, I took four pieces of cotton material. Took a portion of the boiled water sans leaves, and put it in separate glass jars with three modifiers: a) no modifier - 4hours: colour was a beige/sand/slightly grey colour, 24Hrs the same but darker. b) minor amount of vinegar that had aluminium foil in it for several weeks -4 Hour soak: colour bright yellow, 24H soak: deep mustard colour c) soda ash: 4Hours - colour light orange, 24Hr - burnt orange d) drops of iron acetate (nails in vinegar over weeks), 4hrs - dark grey, 24hrs - very near pitch black. What an amazing array of colours from one source. Its clear the PH is the game changer here, and the leaves, bark and etc seem rich in tannins.

[@SallyPointer]

What a great experiment

[@JimMorrison-d4n]

Our neighbor had one at the end of her driveway that dropped the chestnuts all over the street. We played with them as kids and tossed them around or at each other for a game. I knew you couldn't eat them, but never knew there were any uses for them.

[@JenSpice]

This makes the best shampoo and hand soap, especially for older skin. Did you know it supports our natural hyaluronic acid from breaking down so fast. My favorite fountain of youth seasonal bubble treat! Great upload Sally!!! xoxoJen

[@JenSpice]

I cannot wait to try the dyes next Fall once I gather again. I discarded all my husks, LOL. Now I know better! My angora wool is going to be so pretty!!!🐇🐇🐇

[@rossandcharmidempsey4647]

Thanks for pointing that out Jen, as an older gal, I appreciate anything natural that can slow the ‘decrepitude’! 🤣

[@denise3808]

Are they only toxic if ingested?

[@JenSpice]

@@denise3808 yes

[@bluegreenworld333]

How brilliant thx

[@giftoffire4868]

Adorable cat at the end. Hedge bothering is now part of my everyday vocabulary.

[@bluegreenworld333]

Ha ha love it

[@DonnyDunne]

I loved the colours at the end. I think they look a fair bit better than all the vivid colours we get in fabric now a days.

[@AndreaIris86]

My grandma taught me to put horse chestnuts (in my part of Italy we call them "castagne matte", crazy chestnuts) in the wardrobe to keep away moths, it's been years since I used them last, I guess I shall go back to use them again!

[@gloriacervantes3300]

i learned so much just now. there is a tree right outside my door. i had no idea that the nuts my grandson hoarded and called his pirate treasure were the same conkers I read about as a kid and wondered what in the heck they could be! thank you so much for enlightening me.

[@kille-4B]

What a great vidio with lots of usefull information, your woll had wonderfull colors. Also a thank you to one of the commenters @LitoGeorge, for sharing info. 🤗❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@dyeitb1ack]

I stumbled across your kids loom video and here I am an hour later transfixed by conker soap, wool dying, nettle twine and all sorts! 😄Your channel is superb and you have an amazing way to make everything interesting. I’ve never even thought about these things before, I live in a flat in London with no garden but I’m off to hunt for conkers on my next walk haha

[@KimGibsonfiberlover]

Do you know, I on't think I have ever seen a horse chestnut! You can bet I will actively seek them out now! Thanks Sally!

[@salyluz6535]

Do you live in North America? If so, over here they are more commonly known as buckeye trees.

[@clairkinsman6648]

Thank you sooo much for you video. I’ve just started eco dyeing and hadn’t come across the best soap for scouring pre-mordant. I was out foraging I come across beautiful conkers and thought what can I do with those when I googled it and come across your video. It was like the universe was pointing me in the right direction. Thank you so much, I’m looking forward to watching more of your videos 😊

[@emmachizzit9919]

By the way, loved the colours at the end. The cat advertising as though it was going to be a new coat. Colours blend well with the cat. (Sorry, didn't catch the cat's name, but a star non-the-less.)

[@rebecce91]

I would love to be a student of hers! 😁 I have some trouble finding similar plants here sometimes but you learn so much from these videos!

[@salyluz6535]

In North America these are usually called Buckeyes. The inedible nut looks like the eye of a buck. There are very many different varieties of Buckeye trees, and they are the state tree of Ohio As well as the mascot for Ohio State University. We even have a wonderful tasty and popular dessert/candy in North America called Buckeyes, which have balls of powdered sugar and peanut butter as centers, dipped 3/4 way into melted chocolate. They are so yummy! I encourage you to look up the Buckeye recipe and give it a try. I look forward to making some soap with these- thank you very much for sharing the information!

[@Reziac]

I have a horse chestnut in my yard (when it's blooming it looks like a giant marijuana plant) and this little tree produces nuts by the bushel. Excellent to know they're good for something besides feeding the squirrels! And that ginger cat is gorgeous.

[@sandbags2411]

I can remember collecting conkers as a kid like they were treasure always thinking there must be a good use for these thankyou for a great lesson

[@patr3199]

How fascinating - there are horse chestnut trees everywhere throughout Ontario, but I was never aware that there was a use for the nuts (although my pockets were always full of them in the fall!).

[@SallyPointer]

Irresistible aren't they! You never grow out of picking up conkers!

[@TheKatelinn]

Lovely colours, I was sent some sweet chestnut shavings and I used it to wash my hair. Worked great. The cinnamon colours are very similar to your beautiful cat❤️

[@katrussell6819]

Love the colors! I have a horse chestnut tree in my yard. Will have fun playing with the nuts this fall! Thank you.

[@Cynsome1]

I’m very impressed by your video. There were many chestnut trees in Washington where I grew up, I had no idea they were so useful! Your yarn dyes are absolutely beautiful.

[@Morgonmotionaren]

The colours matches the cat! :-) I liked this video. Thank you!

[@latui7350]

Those colors are absolutely beautiful. These invoke such a coziness feeling. I especially love the one with iron.

[@abittwisted]

Natures colors are always the best. Getting ready to do more walnut dye bath for my wool. I did walnut last year and it turned out real nice.

[@SallyPointer]

I love walnut dye, hoping for a few more walnuts locally for a skein to add to the chestnut dyed ones, then I think something over a base of oak gall tannin from the local trees and I can design something to use all these together

[@Reziac]

@@SallyPointer We have black walnuts here that are so bitter they're inedible, and the husks get toxic as they mold, but have wondered if they're good for something.

[@janaabreu]

Wow. This is incredible! I just saw this weird fruit falling off a tree today. Never seen that before so I took one home and made a quick youtube search. This video came first and look at that! So informative! Thank you!

[@SallyPointer]

Glad it was helpful!

[@martinwarner1178]

What a lovely video. Most interesting, and in my 68 years I have never heard of conker soap! Also, I think the colours you achieved are beautiful. Peace be unto you.

[@lisaferriss2659]

first off , I love your videos, they are so informative, and your voice is so soothing. second I had to google what the game of conkers was. now I'm on a quest to find some chestnuts so i can teach it to my grandson. please keep on making these videos.

[@guildofsayntlukemedievalar9024]

Loved that video Sally. Tesla obviously the driving force and quality controller. ;)

[@melenatorr]

Tesla clearly approves and gives the universal kitty sign of approval: sleeping next to the project. Of course, if he really went nuts about it, he would sleep on top of the colors.

[@dragoncurveenthusiast]

I'd say (except for the iron one) you got some lovely Tesla colours! 🐈

[@cheerful_something_something]

I tried to make a chestnut soap once as a child with my Granda... We followed instructions from a book on vikings but thel ittle pots got blown off the wall while drying and we couldn't find them. I shall have to try dyeing some time... there are some good trees nearby if all the kids haven't filled their pockets. Even if they have they've probably left more than a few casing around. hmmm.

[@nightfall3605]

OMG! I watched a video by the Welsh Viking before this one where he tracks the (false) idea that Vikings used conkers for soap. The children’s book series Horrible Histories seems to have included the story as a fun activity for children, but there is no evidence that the Vikings had access to horse chestnuts before their introduction to Britain in 1616. Since it’s Spooky Season I thought you wouldn’t mind me resurrecting this old comment lol

[@x1435]

While I've no idea how to play conkers, the dye looks amazing! Very pretty natural colors. I'm also excited for your soap videos! I've made soap before, but I'm sure you'll include extra, interesting historical tidbits :) Thanks Sally!

[@bluegreenworld333]

What a simply wonderfully information filled vid thx so very much x

[@everything.for.everyone]

Wow, so interesting movie. Congratulations! :)

[@DanceswithDustBunnies]

And, as I'm quite sure someone else has already pointed out, except the grey, they all match your lovely cat.

[@carolynellis387]

This is delightful video and Tesla a complete star.

[@sigma6656]

13:53 I love that advertisement! I guess the implication is that if you bathe with badedas, you'll have potential suitors pistol dueling in your front yard.

[@GaleneIanthe]

I thought I recognized those nuts! We call them buckeyes in some parts of the US, and that's what I've always known them as. Had no idea they were so useful. I'll definitely have to give dyeing with them a go sometime, as I love the soft tones you got from your batches! Edit: Small correction! After doing more digging, apparently, while horsechestnuts are also called buckeyes here in the US, a much more common tree is the native, closely related, Ohio Buckeye Tree. They're very similar, but the "fruit" part of ohio buckeyes isn't spiky like with horsechestnuts. Given how similar they are, I'm tempted to experiment with them and see how they compare with the ones in this video!

[@heidibird1125]

So , I have this in my backyard-the "Horsse Chestnut/Buckeye" and it HAS the spikes- maybe there are variations as you stated? Im in Ohio also, am going to call it a Horse Chestnut- cause my neighbors need to know

[@WindDancer435]

@@heidibird1125 Horse chestnuts in Texas look totally different and chestnuts from upstate NY look more like the video, so I am a little confuuuuuused!

[@josephwhittaker6441]

Well now I know why there were so many horse chestnut trees growing all over Derry. Thank you Sally! I see that the tradition followed with the settlers to Canada -- my wife and I took a holiday to British Columbia this summer, and saw many beautiful old chestnuts growing throughout the Lower Mainland area. I shall have to look around our area to see if any grow in the city, so I can try it out as a soap!

[@Alittlepillowcompanyhome]

Fortuitous vid, this! It’s early autumn and I just discovered a horse chestnut tree yesterday! I feel an afternoon of gathering on the horizon 😎 Thanks so much for this!! Loving your videos ❤️

[@varde42]

So interesting :) I've occasionally used Indian soapnuts, had no idea that horse chestnuts also contain saponins. That gray colour turned out especially lovely :)

[@claudiaelenadominguezvarga8586]

Excellent! Just today I was wondering about those nuts. Thank you so much for this really precious information!

[@the-nomad]

Beautiful colours!

[@kaylavillalobos1779]

Your content is most fascinating to me, glad I found you!

[@emmabroughton2039]

Another interesting and informative video, thank you!

[@EctoMorpheus]

Another great video! Looking forward to you making soap with the woodash lye.

[@susanzigler668]

Love the colors! I never knew about conkers before today. Ty

[@FreeLeBaron1]

Everything about this video is really lovely and interesting thank you sally🤍🕊

[@deboraharmstrong3002]

It would be interesting to do a test of the skins compared to the husks to see which has a greater amount of dye....or even possibly slightly different colors?

[@judywood4530]

Fascinating! I am so glad I discovered your channel.

[@johnsullivan6560]

Wonderfully informative. Being American I’m not sure what conkers is but the rest was clear an insightful. Thank you.

[@sarahs784]

A conker is one of the horse chestnuts with a bit of string through it. British children play games with them where you swing your conker at the opponent's and the opponent swings back at yours. The person with the least broken conker wins.

[@tracylouisepoynton]

Abssaluety loved this content going to get cosy and binge watch Everything you have up

[@SallyPointer]

Thank you!

[@Blackfox_Kitsune]

you should SO do a dye where you use the dreaded bindweed (it's apparently a bright yellow)

[@Mommamacnz]

This was so interesting - I learned such a lot. For starters I didn't know that horse chestnuts could be used as soap! I'm going to try it and see if there's an improvement in my husband's dermatitis. I hope there is.

[@fabali6380]

You’ll have to tell us if it made a difference in your dermatitis.

[@helentucker6407]

Hi when I had babies in the 90s the midwife told me to use badedas bath to help healing bits! Worked a treat. Good luck I'm sure it will help 😊

[@tedc7891]

I'm sorry if this is a silly question but as these chestnuts are inedible can the knives and chopping board be used again for food prep, after a thorough wash obviously? Or is it best to have separate utensils for this chestnut prep? Thank you

[@SallyPointer]

It's a very sensible question. It's fine in small amounts, and things like steel or plastics that don't absorb things are easily cleaned, but if I was processing lots, a non porous chopping board would be a sensible option. In this case, when scrubbed the saponin residues actually help clean the board, but it's never a bad move to have a different chopping board for non food items as a general principle.

[@deecoles]

Sally.. love your videos.. you have such a nice voice.. soothing in a way.. reminds me of home..😊.. the video is really helpful.. been looking for videos on how to lock the colours in.. it seems there are very little on UTube.. again love the vids..👍🏻

[@SallyPointer]

Really pleased you like it. I've got a few other dyeing videos that might help re mordants and modifiers.

[@lisascenic]

Really lovely coordinating colors!

[@catastrfy]

such lovely soft colours! 😻😻😻😻

[@tm13tube]

Making soap and dyes from conkers or horse chestnuts. She is great to listen to.

[@serenawebster4694]

Have you ever tried prepping dyes in clay, stone or wooden vats? I wonder if they would make an difference in how the dyes look?

[@SallyPointer]

Wood may well add tannins if it's own, clay is usually pretty inert if well fired, but some clays can add iron traces too. Haven't had the chance to try stone yet. It's an excellent observation though and it would be a lot of fun to test scientifically in a carefully controlled comparison.

[@MamaHestaby]

Now I know what to do this autumn on my weekends off duty. Is it possible to use dried husks and chestnuts? 🤔 Lovely colours too. ❤️

[@SallyPointer]

Dried is fine, but probably easiest to dye with fresh just because of the bulk

[@renatamcstay]

Amazing color! Thank you once again. Another practical use for our inherited 'pioneer' garden. Would the soap be fine for washing dishes?

[@someting9205]

Thanks great idea! Those big nuts always facinate me

[@rosemoon9219]

Since it kills bugs you could use it as a natural pesticide, it wont harm the water supply but it does keep de bugs away

[@pumpkinsgaming]

Thanks!

[@hazelgardner957]

Brilliant videos, always happy to see a cat

[@SallyPointer]

He and his mum pop up in quite a few of the videos, whether I want them to or not!

[@lorenebonsu146]

❤️ thanks for these videos

[@cuocsongomy-trangmangosing4779]

It's amazing my friend,. Thank you for sharing the great video. Have a great day

[@isabo3556]

Must say, I really liked the end result. Especially the green one. Can one also make the wool purple?

[@SallyPointer]

Purple is best done with madder unless you want to get into murex or lichen dyeing

[@westrose586]

God bless you Sally.

[@jayhenderson2620]

Anothet fantastic video!

[@D_ytAcct]

What beautiful colours!

[@storytimewithnannyuk8185]

Absolutely brilliant!!!

[@TheFunctionalForce]

Hi Sally, it’s me again :D just to report I did it and I got the cinnamon and yellow tones! So gorgeous. I even did a lightfast test and they hold beautifully. The only tone I didn’t get was the green. Did u end up using more than the 1.5g of iron and how long did u leave it to stew in the end? I’m assuming your yarn was 100% wool and non superwash? I have a new skein to play with and I’m committed to get this green! :D Thank u sally!

[@SallyPointer]

It was only a tiny bit of iron and not a huge amount of time if memory serves

[@TheFunctionalForce]

@@SallyPointerthank you again! Right now my skein is stewing to first become that pretty yellow, then I’ll “iron” it 😂 Will report back! 🎉

[@slhughes1267]

Just did the dyebath thing. Was able to get pounds/kilos of husks. (She does say the more, the better). I did the washing soda pH thing and added a Lot of iron sulphate (two 25 mg tablets) to the 8 qt/liter bath. Got the nice creamy yellow (seems to be darkening a bit to a golden yellow) and a gorgeous dark olive green/grey green. Currently looking to see what the "exhaust" bath does.

[@TheFunctionalForce]

Thank you for these beautiful dyes, Sally! I’m making mine right now, inspired by you :) One big doubt I have is: in everything I’ve learned, it says never to heat wool in alkaline solutions because it will damage the wool. Would the same effect be achieved by just soaking the wool in cool alkaline water after the dyeing you think? 🙏🏼💕💕

[@SallyPointer]

It's a case of extremes are often bad but don't overdo it and you'll be fine.This batch of yarn is absolutely fine a couple of years after dyeing

[@TheFunctionalForce]

@@SallyPointersally this is lovely to know (always worth testing theories!) and that u replied to me so fast! Thank you dearly!

[@romesweetrome8407]

As usual, fantastic video. We will be trying it out on our linen! Ah, North America and Canada? Canada is PART of North America.

[@SallyPointer]

Well corrected! I was probably getting fuddled between the political regions and the geographical whole! Do forgive me, I'm a bit addled at the moment with everything going on.

[@ladyknitsalot3493]

Hi, Sally! Thank you for this video! I assume, but want to check, that dried conkers can also be used for soap at tge times when one can't find fresh ones. I will definitely be trying the dyeing this autumn. Thank you!

[@SallyPointer]

Yes, you may want to chop them before drying for ease, but they do store

[@Jo-sp5cp]

@@SallyPointer thank you.👍

[@joy_geulon]

Lovely natural color! 💕

[@Critteroonie]

Excellent as always, thank you 🙏🏻

[@isabo3556]

I found a Chessnut in the park and wanted to know if it could be eaten. So I went to youtube. Now I know about the edible and the unedible. Then I came to this video and I learned about using the unedible as soap!!! And now even as dye!! Only to now wonder: wool can be boiled? As in, heated up to 100 degrees Celcius? Does this mean your wool will not shrink in the washer/dryer?

[@SallyPointer]

Wool won't shrink if you heat it up slowly without agitation and avoid sudden temperature changes, it's the movement that causes shrinking more than the temperature in the washing machine

[@isabo3556]

@@SallyPointer Thank you for answering. I find your channel really refreshing.

[@thornhedge9639]

Very informative. Thank you...

[@janaabreu]

Those colors are so pretty! 😍😍

[@parasewia]

Children in Poland collect horse chestnut and acorns then make figurines matching chestnut with matches.

[@renewalkin6151]

Really interesting!

[@lauramcmahon602]

Loooove this!

[@AnimeShinigami13]

any advice on how to extract lanolin from wool? i have two whole fleeces that i'm cleaning and skirting right now. one black, one white. Also can you use dried chestnuts from the previous year for this?

[@vijaynazari9246]

Outstanding information. Is it possible to preserve and store the conkers or the soap mixture for use later in the year?

[@SallyPointer]

Yes indeed, just chop and dry the conkers

[@irishcottagerenovation9900]

Brilliant, thank you for producing another wonderful informative video, I so enjoy watching them. Love the colours produced. Is there a way of preserving the conkers throughout the year? When I have tried to store them they just dry out.

[@SallyPointer]

Dried is fine, they just take a bit more effort to crush before use

[@irishcottagerenovation9900]

Sally Pointer Can’t wait for your next video. Happy hedge bothering and thank you for your advise.

[@mult1coloured]

Looking forward to trying this, thanks so much !!! How can we store the chestnuts/soap for future use ?

[@SallyPointer]

You can dry the conkers, easiest to chop them first. Made liquid soap lasts about a week in the fridge.

[@zoeward4555]

The grow your own drugs book by James Wong has a recipe to help with varicose veins made from conkers!

[@someting9205]

Imma save some for a homemade Mideaval washer.

[@anthonyjacobs6790]

Great video, packed with interesting ideas, thank you. I shall try dying a white sheet that I want to use as a tarp. Where did you get the iron oxide from?

[@SallyPointer]

Remember if it's cotton you'll need to mordant differently to wool, add tannin to your process after scouring and before the alum (look up mordanting cotton if you aren't already familiar with the process). You can get the iron sulphate from the same suppliers as you get your alum from (try eBay if you dont have a preferred mordant supplier already) or just soak rusty nails in vinegar for a while, that will do the trick.

[@anthonyjacobs6790]

@@SallyPointer, thank you so much for the information. You would have had a new subscriber, if I hadn't subscribed already. Xx

[@kirstenpaff8946]

You almost never see these kinds of chestnut trees in the US. I think they got wiped out by blight. I really missed them after moving to the States from Europe when I was a kid.

[@salyluz6535]

Actually, these are not chestnut trees. In North America what we call chestnut trees are the edible nuts, also called sweet Chestnut. Those are the ones that were impacted by the blight, although by crossbreeding for blight resistance, Chestnuts are coming back as a crop at least in Ohio! But again, that is a different tree than what she’s featuring in this video. In North America, the tree she is featuring is usually called the Buckeye tree, or less commonly the HORSE chestnut. It is an entirely different family and it’s not edible at all. Living in North America I’ve never heard of the game of conckers until this past month, but Buckeye trees are very popular. Buckeye trees come in many different varieties, with different colored wood, different heights and cold tolerances. The blooms come in white, pink, red and yellow. Buckeyes are well known as the state tree of Ohio, the mascot for Ohio State University, and the inspiration for very tasty peanut butter chocolate Buckeye candies! So I’m not sure where exactly you live in North America, but you might want to check and see if the buckeye tree grows in your part of the continent.

[@halapoul]

Every where you see squirrels,there are horsechesnuts.. I'm in America, blue earth, there are everywhere

[@jennistone364]

wonder if the liquid would sort the aphids out?!!

[@thatcellistfromfinland4402]

Sweet chestnuts leave a lot of purpley gray into boiling water. I've been wondering if i can somehow use it for dying. Perhaps I should make some experiments🤔

[@emmachizzit9919]

Extremely interesting! As per Jen's comment below, I would lover to learn how to make shampoo from it. Is there a limit to the amount of time you can keep the liquid after cooling? Would i need to add anything afterwards to make the shampoo? Thank you for sharing.

[@SallyPointer]

I've got a jar of liquid over a year old now that hasn't gone off, but probably easier to chop then dry the conkers and make it fresh as needed, especially if you want to use it directly on the skin

[@chantellemifsud7033]

Thank you for this video. Very informative. May I ask where did you buy the iron suphate from,please?

[@SallyPointer]

Any dye and mordant supplier, many garden centres also sell it, eBay etc, or you can soak scrap iron in vinegar for a simple alternative

[@cowgirlval5216]

Great work, beautiful colors👍 Have you ever used mushrooms to dye your yarn?

[@SallyPointer]

Lichen occasionally, but whilst I'm aware of mushroom dyeing it's not part of my regular repertoire

[@rens1030]

Thanks a lot for sharing these inspirations :D Wondering if someone could fingerpoint where to find ways to make the ash lye for soap making..

[@SallyPointer]

There will be a series of videos on soapmaking from scratch in the next year, I'll be doing lots as part of a research project and will film sections

[@rens1030]

Looking forward to these series! Wish you great fun with the project