I often find myself looking for new ways to use fabric that I already have to minimize my fabric waste and to give new life to existing materials. I came across a small amount of 100% organic cotton gauze fabric from last Spring in my studio, it was white and I wasn’t feeling very inspired by the colour of it. I thought I’d try to natural dye it with avocados, knowing that they developed a delicate blush pink colour.
Click here to watch the process.
What you’ll need —
- Fabric | Natural dyeing only works with natural fibres such as cotton, wool, silk, etc.
- Avocados | Collect the pits and skins of 1-6 avocados, depending on the amount of materials you intend on dyeing
- Stainless Steel Pot
- Metal Tongs or Wooden Spoon
The Process —
Start by pre-soaking your fabric, either run it through a short wash cycle or soak material in the sink. Thoroughly wash the avocado pits and skins to remove any remaining green flesh.
Fill a pot of water approximately halfway, or enough to cover the amount of fabric that will be used. Bring water to a boil and collect your avocados. I decided to wrap the avocados in cheesecloth - this will make it easier to remove the avocados from the dye bath when it comes time to add the fabric.
Once water is boiled, bring water to a simmer and place avocados in the pot. Let simmer for at least one hour, I did about three. The longer the avocados are in the water, the stronger the dye bath will be.