Thursday 9 February 2012

Natural Dyeing with Avocado Pits progress report

First off, dyeing with avocado pits is a very different experience than dyeing with avocado skins. The smell of simmering skins is pleasant. It reminds me of my mom's old laundry soap– it smells of cleanliness, home, and my mom. The odour of simmering pits, on the other hand, is downright putrid. Skins give a deep rosy-tan colour and so far all that the pits yield is a delicate pink. The skin dye-bath is surprisingly strong and is taking weeks to exhaust. I've thrown in a few used tea bags with the hopes that some tannin will help the dye bond with the fabric. I still don't know if the dyes are light-fast or fugitive. I will have to test it for myself. Years ago I yielded a gorgeous purple-blue from blue cabbage and made a bathroom curtain with it. Within a few weeks every bit of colour was gone. So sad. 

2 comments:

fede said...

Karen!
if you'll ever read thi comment... avocado pits are FULL of tannins, therefore they don't need mordant...

Karen Thiessen said...

Thanks!