As if the little hipster avocado needed any more praise, you can also use their stones to dye natural fabrics the most beautiful spectrum of pinks. I KNOW, MAGIC 💫. Read on my friends…
For as long as I can remember I have loved packaging: typography on soap papers, French cocoa tins, Pez, wax seals, hotel miniatures (heck, anything miniature actually), ribbons, tubes you could squeeze star-shaped bubblegum out of, brown paper bags, ceramic ink pots, muslin-wrapped puds...the list goes on…so it’s no surprise that I love packaging my wedding stationery. It’s a ruddy delight of a job quite frankly.
I couldn’t find anything just right and so I figured I should probably just do it myself.
It turns out that what I was looking for was handmade blush tea towels, obviously, hand-dyed with avocados ✌🏻🥑and a wee recycled cotton hanging loop to finish them off.
I want them to act as a reminder of the happy design process we went through (ideally whilst drying champers glasses to celebrate another anniversary, but pots and pans will do nicely).
WHAT YOU WILL NEED:
100% Natural white fabric (cotton, linen, bamboo…don’t be tempted to use synthetic, it won’t dye evenly if at ALL)
🥑If it isn’t pre-washed, wash it! It will absorb the dye better
Water (it doesn’t need to be special - from the tap is fine)
A big pan
🥑 It needs to be big enough to hold all your fabric and still be covered completely by water - if you have a preserving pan that will work a treat
Avocado stones of any size (clean those slippery little suckers first - I used 4)
A wooden spoon and tongs
Rubber gloves
SOME NOTES BEFORE YOU START:
Will my water affect the final colour?
Yes! But you won’t know until you try, so just give it a whirl. Tap water will have a different dye to seawater, rainwater etc.
How many avocado stones do I need?
This will depend on how dark you want the water. I used 4 for 1m of white linen fabric.
How will I know when my fabric is done?
When it is the colour you like! Focus on colour not time - each time you dye it will be different so just rely on your peepers 👀
I want to dye loads of fabric!
If you struggle to fit it in a pan, you won’t get a very even result (but if you don’t mind that then it’s fine). I would stick to a metre or so and a big pan! If you have a few cuts, use the same pot of dye and just repeat!
Can I keep the dye water?
For a little while, but not for ages as it will start to go bad 🤢. You can absolutely reuse it. I have found there is no need to heat the fabric in it, just leave it a little longer.
Will the dye be nice and even?
I like the imperfections! Remember to agitate it now and again. The more water you have, the more even it will be. If your fabric is really scrunched up you will get little creases, but this looks lovely too and it may be exactly what you are after.
I didn’t get a nice pink colour 😩, what am I doing wrong?
Likely nothing! Water has a big impact on the final colour so it may just be that. Try changing up the fabric, number of avocado stones etc. and make a wee note of what you did differently and what worked.
Can I dye yarn instead of fabric?
Yes! Disclosure: I have never done it but use the same technique. You may need to unwind your yarn or at least loosen it.
Can I use avocado skins?
Yes! But this makes a dye with a brown tone rather than pink.
Can I use other botanicals?
Absolutely. There are books a plenty on this subject…beetroot, pomegranate skins, tea, marigold flowers, nettles…the list is endless. Have a read or take a peep at a pro like Rebecca Desnos !
Finally, it isn’t an exact science, so just give it a go. Added more water midway through? Fineee. Popped another avocado stone in? Who’s gonna know? Given the fabric a second soak? Also fine. It’s not a needy little soufflé. It’s actually very forgiving so go for it. You can’t really go wrong! 💪🏻
HOW TO:
Fill your pan with water and pop your clean avocado stones in.
Bring your pan to the boil and then turn it down to a gentle heat. Heat the water until it changes to a deep pink/purple. The longer you heat it for, the darker it will be (mine took 45mins). The darker the colour, the darker the dye (a very pale pink will do very little to your fabric).
Once you are happy with the colour take it off the heat, remove the stones and pop your fabric in. Squish it all the way in until it is submerged.
Leave the fabric in the water until you are happy with the shade. This could be a few hours or overnight! (mine took about 2 hours to get to a nice blush colour for 1m of white linen)
Agitate the fabric every now and again, this will give a more even coverage. I used tongs for this as the fabric can get quite heavy.
Tip: Careful of the splashes which will stain, and don’t wear your fave white top!
Once you are happy, remove the fabric from the pan, wash it in cold water and hang it to dry.
That’s it folks! You’re bloody well done 👍🏻
Tag me in your dyeing projects, I would love to have a nose, and comment below if you have any questions.
Happy botanical dyeing! 🌱🍇🍒
Louie x