Avocado Pit Dye
Avocado pits will make several lovely shades of pink, and purple with an iron solution, or modifier. Depending on how long you soak your fibers, how concentrated your dye bath and which fibers you use, your colors will vary.
Equipment
- Large Stock Pot
- Long Handled Spoon
- Yarn or Twine
- Pair of Scissors
- Netted Produce Bag or Nylon Stockings
- Kitchen Scale
- Strainer or Sieve
Ingredients
- 10-12 Clean Avocado Pits
- 1 Gallon Un-Chlorinated Water
- Fiber to Dye Fleece, Yarn, or Cotton Cloth
Instructions
- Fill a large, non-reactive pot about 2/3 full of water.
- Add 10-12 clean avocado pits. You don't need a mordant with avocado pits, which is another reason why they're good to use with children. (Mordants need to be handled with care.)
- Bring the water to a low boil and then reduce to a simmer. The avocado pits will probably split open and that's fine.
- Simmer the dye bath until the water turns bright red. It usually takes about 30 to 60 minutes.
- Remove the pits with long tongs - be careful, they'll be hot!
- Add your dye material - fabric, yarns, fiber.
- After 10 to 15 minutes, the dye will be set on most fabrics. The first colors will be warm peach tones. Leaves the fabrics and fibers in longer for darker pink variations.
- When the items get to the color you want, move them to rinse in warm water with pH-neutral soap. Hang them to dry out of the sun.
- Hang them to dry out of the sun.
Notes
Use natural fibers for best results - cotton or wool. Bamboo will also work.
Add the iron modifier to the dye bath to try for purples in varying shades with new fibers and fabrics.