The Wild Dyer: A Maker's Guide to Natural Dyes with Projects to Create and Stitch

Yellow Onion

The yellow onion is the most common cooking onion. The skins of all varieties of yellow and brown onion are rich in a strong ocher dye. To brew a vat, you will need to save up the skins over time, as one onion yields only a small amount of dyestuff. However, they are definitely worth the wait, as the rich color they produce is really beautiful and gives consistently bright results. When treated in an iron mordant, the color shifts from deep ocher to a dark, rich brown.

Dye color: strong ocher

Iron mordant: dark brown

Coffee Grounds

The leftover coffee grounds from your morning coffee are full of natural tannins. If you are a regular coffee drinker, it won’t take you long to build up enough used grounds to make a vat of dye. Even after being used, they are still full of dye potential and will produce delicate tones of warm brown, which turn to beautiful pale grays in an iron mordant. If you aren’t a coffee drinker, you can ask a local coffee shop to set aside their grounds at the end of the day. A busy café will produce more than enough for a vat in one day.

Dye color: pale brown

Iron mordant: delicate gray

Avocado

Avocados are one of the most unassuming and surprising sources of natural dye. Both the skins and stones are packed full of a strong pink pigment, which is released as soon as they enter water. They are best

collected over time, as it takes at least eight avocados to start a vat. The skins (left) and the stones (right) produce slightly different pinks. The skins have an orange hue, while the stones tend to produce a clearer baby pink. You can use them separately or you may also use them together in one vat to intensify the strength of the dye. Make sure you wash them before storing to ensure a clean vat of dye.

Dye color: baby pink, orange pink

Iron mordant: pale gray

Red Cabbage

You may be familiar with the stained hands and chopping board that result from slicing a red cabbage to cook on a cold winter’s night. Red cabbage is packed full of a wonderful, rich dye that produces beautiful

icy blues and purples, which is released by gently simmering in water. If you plan to eat your cabbage rather than let it go to waste, keep an eye that it doesn’t boil and overcook. Gentle heat is enough to produce

a strong vat of dye without sacrificing the quality of the cabbage. I recommend using the dye immediately rather than keeping it around, as it can begin to smell. However, the resulting colors are worth it, given a little planning.

Dye color: icy blue, pale purple

Iron mordant: blue-gray