Today I decided to tackle some dyeing. I was met with two obstacles. One, nothing is really growing outside right now, so there's not much to harvest for natural dyeing. Two, even if I did harvest something, it needs to soak for a couple of days. Therefore, no dyeing today. Unfazed my mom and I made a list of the various roots or trees in our yard that we might be able to harvest tomorrow and decided to start with something simpler today: yellow onions.
Following Maura Ambrose' directions over on Folk Fibers, we bought a bag of yellow onions, peeled them, and boiled the skins for half an hour. They need to soak for several days before adding the fabric, so we settled in to watch Brave and Merida's adventures with bows and tapestry needles. The neat thing about onion skins is that they are completely non-toxic, so I can boil them in any old pot from our kitchen without killing off family members. Plus, onions produce a color-fast and light-fast dye without something to set the color. All you have to do is use an aluminum pot. The aluminum from the pot leeches into the water and acts as a mordant itself. So handy. With my first dye project underway, I am already planning all the plants I want to grow in my garden next summer. This is just the beginning!
Following Maura Ambrose' directions over on Folk Fibers, we bought a bag of yellow onions, peeled them, and boiled the skins for half an hour. They need to soak for several days before adding the fabric, so we settled in to watch Brave and Merida's adventures with bows and tapestry needles. The neat thing about onion skins is that they are completely non-toxic, so I can boil them in any old pot from our kitchen without killing off family members. Plus, onions produce a color-fast and light-fast dye without something to set the color. All you have to do is use an aluminum pot. The aluminum from the pot leeches into the water and acts as a mordant itself. So handy. With my first dye project underway, I am already planning all the plants I want to grow in my garden next summer. This is just the beginning!