NATURAL DYING WITH AVOCADOS

I had been wanting to dye with avocados for quite some time - I just never had enough stones and skins to do it! I saved the stones and skins from all of our avocados for about two weeks in preparation for this project. I found that the large avocados from the store seem to work better because the stones are larger, but any avocado should be fine!

I began by soaking the fabric in a mordant. I used six 19”x19” cotton white napkins. I used Alum for the mordant.

After a few hours, I took the napkins out of the mordant bath and tied them in the designs that I chose. I did two of each design so that I could have pairs, but you could do whatever you like! I placed the stones and pits into the pot full of water (I emptied the mordant bath first) and left the pot on the stove on medium heat for a few hours.

Once the dye has been extracted from the stones and skins to a hue that you like, you can place the fabric in the bath. I took out the skins and let the stones remain with the fabric. I soaked my fabric for 12 hours. Since I was worried about leaving the stove on while I slept, I just turned off the stove and placed a lid on the pot.

In the morning, you can un-tie the napkins and see your design! Natural dyes can be very tricky. With avocados, you may get a very light tan or a dark peach… or anything in between! Much of the dye will also come out with each wash. I was pretty happy with the results!