I recently purchased by mail order some vintage Spanish silk worm gut leaders and had planned on making twisted gut eyes with this material. When it arrived I was happy with its flexibility but not its color which was a pale green. The color did not complement my work so I set the gut aside for a month or so. Later I decided to try an experiment to bleach the color out. This process returned the gut to its original neutral color without affecting its flexibility. It now makes beautiful twisted eyes.

Here is the procedure: mix a solution of 50% Clorox bleach and 50% cold water in a small stainless pot or tray. Submerge the gut in this solution and stir to obtain an even bleaching action.

With this process the green will be totally removed in about 32 minutes to reveal the gut's original beauty. After soaking the required time rinse the gut very thoroughly in water. I use a combination of rinsing and soaking in still water, this due to California's water rationing situation. Once washed the gut can then be twisted and set out to dry.

I've found that after a year of using this method the first gut eyes I treated are still flexible and luminescent.

My only caution might be to bleach small groups of gut since your material might react differently (it might be a good idea to experiment first with waste ends to determine the amount of soak time necessary - Ed.). I still do not know if the gut will become brittle in five to ten years so I bleach the gut only as needed instead of in large quantities.