Avocado Dye Alum

Tips for Natural Dyeing with Avocado #1 It is best to use fresh skins and pits to achieve more intense colors. But you can also store the dye stuff either at room temperature or in the freezer until you are ready to use the pieces. Just make sure to clean and dry them thoroughly.

#2 Different types of avocados produce different color variations. I personally like to use "Hass" avocados. The magic of dyeing with avocados is that you don't need any mordant! The avocado pits contain tannin, which acts as a mordant and helps the dye bind to your fiber.

Below are my recent dye experience using avocado with alum mordant. From the top is wool fibre and below is silk fibre. They were laid on plain cotton (cellulose fibre).

They were pre-mordant with alum mordant before putting into the dye pot. Preparing the dye To prepare the dye, I simmer the skins and the pits altogether in a dye pot. Tip #2: Mordant with Alum When using avocado skins or pits, you have to prep your materials to receive and lock in the dye.

This is called mordanting. I use aluminum sulfate. This is a food grade powder used for pickling and is free of iron or other impurities.

You can find this at your local grocery store in the spices section (if you're looking for a larger amount, I get mine from here). I. Avocados make a great dye for yarn, wool, silk protein fibres, and cotton or linen plant fibres.

Dyeing with avocados is getting more popular nowadays. Learn how to make avocado dye and tie-dye clothing using avocado pits! It's so fun and easy! Use Avocado Seed Natural Dye at 100% weight-of-fabric on alum-mordanted fiber for a strong salmon or peach shade.

Avocado is sensitive to PH, and increasing the alkalinity will shift the color from the yellow end of the spectrum towards the red. How to dye yarn using avocado Dyeing yarn and fabric pink using avocado pits and skins is easier than it looks! Photo tutorial, step by step instructions. Add the alum solution to the dye kettle with enough warm water (about 45º C or 110º F) to cover the fibre when it is added - usually a 30:1 ration of water to fibre.

Stir well. Add the scoured, wet fibre. Over 30-45 minutes bring the temperature up to 90º C (195ºF) Just under simmer for wool and 85ºC (185ºF) for silk.

I had saved the dye pot from the pits and used half and half with the skins and pits. I also presoaked the wool, silk and cotton in an alum mordant for several hours.