avocado dyeing
A Clearing in the Woods at India Flint’s School of Nomad Arts starts February first!
I’ve been preparing since October when I made quantities of little circular bundles using different plants and objects and dyes. Those bundles are in jars resting comfortably in my studio, no mold or explosions experienced.
I purchased a scarf in a silk cotton blend to use for the project. Over the past few days I’ve dyed the white scarf with avocado pits and skins. I had stored up a quantity in the freezer.
Step by step:
- Scoured the scarf by washing it in the sink with washing soda and dish detergent. Rinsed it as best I could by hand. It dried out afterwards but I don’t think that mattered much.
- Thawed the avocado out of the freezer and washed / scraped off the most obvious remaining bits of green flesh.
- Dumped avocado into my copper dye pot. Added tap water, no other amendments. I thought about washing soda or bicarbonate or cream of tartar (alkaline), which might have brightened the pink color. But decided to keep it simple for the first try.
- Simmered on the wood stove and the cooktop. The wood stove heated the brew but wasn’t enough to get to a consistent simmer. So I moved it to the stove burner. This probably took a little over an hour.
- Decanted the brew into my electric cooker through cheesecloth. This step was important to eliminate a lot of floating particles. I’m glad I have two dedicated vessels for dyeing.
- Added my scarf to the cooker, stirred, covered. I did not apply any more heat.
- Left it for approximately 30 hours (overnight). I rearranged the scarf in the dye a few times but it didn’t seem to be picking up color unevenly.
- Dripped the scarf dry in the bathtub. I only had to pick a few particles off the fabric. The bathtub is a little pink, but I think that will come off eventually!
Not sure how or when I will launder the scarf. It feels a little stiffer than I’d like, so I’m tempted to wash it.
Looking forward to starting this February project soon!