Top 6 'Avocado-to-Aubergine' Natural Dye Techniques to explore in your kitchen for beginners - Goh Ling Yong
Have you ever stared at the papery skins of an onion or the hard pit of an avocado and felt a pang of creative guilt? In a world where we’re all trying to be more mindful of waste, these kitchen scraps often feel like a missed opportunity. What if I told you that these humble remnants hold the secret to a palette of colours so rich and earthy, they could transform your plain fabrics into one-of-a-kind works of art?
Welcome to the magical world of natural dyeing! This ancient practice is more than just a craft; it's a slow, rewarding process that connects you to nature in the most unexpected ways. It's about transforming the compost-bound into the colourful, the mundane into the magnificent. Forget harsh chemical dyes with their unpredictable results and environmental toll. Your kitchen is already a fully-stocked art supply store, waiting to be discovered.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through six of our favourite, beginner-friendly natural dye techniques using everyday kitchen ingredients. From the surprising dusty pinks of avocados to the moody blues of black beans, you’ll learn the foundational steps to create your own spectrum of sustainable colour. So, grab an old t-shirt or a few cotton tea towels, and let’s turn your kitchen into a vibrant colour lab.
A Quick Word on Prepping Your Fabric
Before we dive into the colours, let's talk about the two most important prep steps: scouring and mordanting. Don't let the technical terms scare you! They are simple but crucial for achieving rich, long-lasting colour.
Scouring (Washing): This is just a fancy word for thoroughly cleaning your fabric. Textiles, even new ones, have oils, waxes, and residues on them that can prevent dye from absorbing evenly. To scour, simply wash your fabric in the washing machine on a hot cycle with a pH-neutral soap (like Synthrapol or a simple, unscented detergent). Do this before you begin any dye project.
Mordanting (Prepping): Think of a mordant as a primer for your paint. It’s a substance (often a metallic salt or a plant-based alternative) that helps the dye molecules bond permanently to the fabric fibres. Without it, most natural dyes will wash out or fade very quickly. For beginners, the safest and most accessible mordant is Alum (potassium aluminum sulfate), which you can find online or in canning aisles. A simple method is to dissolve alum (around 10-15% of your fabric's dry weight) in hot water, add your wet fabric, and gently simmer for an hour. Let it cool in the pot, then you can proceed to dyeing.
Now that your fabric is prepped and ready, let’s get to the fun part!
1. Avocado Pits & Skins: The Secret to Dusty Pinks
This is the one that surprises everyone. You’d expect green, but avocados create the most beautiful, delicate range of blush, dusty rose, and peachy-pinks. The colour comes from the tannins stored within the pits and skins, which develop into a rich dye when simmered over time. It’s a bit of a slow dance, but the stunning results are absolutely worth the wait.
The process is one of patience. Start collecting your avocado pits and skins in a bag in the freezer until you have a good amount—at least 5-6 pits for a small project like a t-shirt. When you're ready, give them a good rinse to remove any green flesh. Place them in a non-reactive pot (stainless steel is perfect), cover them with water, and bring it to a gentle simmer. You’ll want to keep it on low heat, never a rolling boil, for at least an hour, or until the water turns a deep, reddish-brown. Some dyers let it simmer for hours or even steep overnight to extract every last bit of colour.
Once your dye bath is ready, strain out the pits and skins and add your pre-mordanted, damp fabric. Continue to gently heat the fabric in the dye bath for another hour or two. The longer you leave it, the deeper the colour will become. For the richest shades, you can even turn off the heat and let the fabric soak overnight. This slow, gentle process is a core principle we cherish here at the Goh Ling Yong studio—letting time and natural materials do their beautiful work.
2. Yellow Onion Skins: The Golden Workhorse
If you’re looking for a natural dye that’s practically foolproof, look no further than the humble yellow onion. The dry, papery skins that you normally toss in the bin are packed with pigment, yielding a spectrum of sun-kissed yellows, warm golds, and deep, rusty oranges. It’s one of the most reliable and readily available dyestuffs out there.
To get started, you'll need a generous handful of skins—the more you use, the more intense your colour will be. A great tip is to ask your local greengrocer if you can collect the loose skins from the bottom of their onion bin; they are usually happy to oblige! Simply add the skins to your pot, cover with water, and simmer for about an hour. You'll see the water transform into a gorgeous, clear golden liquid. Strain out the skins, and your dye bath is ready for your fabric.
For a fun, mottled, or tie-dye effect, try skipping the straining step. Instead, place the onion skins directly onto your damp fabric, roll it up tightly, and secure it with string. You can then steam the bundle for an hour or simmer it directly in the pot. When you unroll it, you’ll be greeted with beautiful, organic patterns where the skins made direct contact with the cloth. This is a fantastic way to experiment with texture and unpredictable results.
3. Turmeric Powder: Instant Sunshine Yellow
Need a burst of vibrant colour, fast? Turmeric is your answer. This brilliant orange-yellow spice gives you an incredibly potent, electric yellow with minimal effort. Unlike many other natural dyes that require long simmering times to extract colour, turmeric works almost instantly, making it a perfect project for an impatient beginner or a fun afternoon craft with kids (with supervision, of course!).
The process couldn’t be simpler. Just spoon a few tablespoons of turmeric powder into your pot of hot water and stir until it dissolves. There's no need to boil it for a long time. Add your wet, mordanted fabric and stir gently to ensure even coverage. You will see the fabric take on colour immediately. Simmer for about 30-60 minutes, depending on the intensity you’re after.
A word of caution: turmeric is a powerful stainer! Be sure to wear gloves and an apron, and use a dedicated pot you don’t mind turning yellow. It's also important to know that turmeric is what’s known as a "fugitive" dye, meaning it's not very lightfast and can fade over time with repeated washing and sun exposure. But for its sheer, joyful vibrancy and ease of use, it's an unbeatable starting point in your natural dyeing journey.
4. Red Cabbage: A pH Magic Trick
Get ready for a little kitchen chemistry! Red cabbage is perhaps the most magical dye on this list, not for its colour, but for its ability to change colour. The pigment in red cabbage is a natural pH indicator, meaning it will shift from purple to blue in an alkaline environment and to pink in an acidic one. Dyeing with it feels like a science experiment where you get to wear the results.
First, create your base dye. Roughly chop about half a head of red cabbage, place it in a pot with water, and simmer for 30-60 minutes. You’ll end up with a deep purple-ish blue liquid. After straining out the cabbage, you can divide this dye bath into two or three smaller containers to start experimenting.
Now for the magic. Leave one bath as is for a purplish tone. To another, add a splash of white vinegar—watch as it instantly shifts to a vibrant magenta pink! To a third bath, add a pinch of baking soda, and it will transform into a beautiful teal blue or even green. The final colour will depend heavily on the mineral content of your tap water, making every batch a unique surprise. This is one of my personal favourites, as it perfectly demonstrates how natural dyeing is a collaboration between the dyer, the plant, and the environment.
5. Black Beans: Moody Blues and Smoky Greys
Who knew that a bag of dried black beans could produce such a dreamy, ethereal range of colours? This technique is unique because it requires no heat at all. Instead, it relies on a long, cool soak to slowly extract a delicate and unpredictable pigment. The results can range from a soft lavender to a denim-like blue or a smoky, stormy grey.
The key is to use the soaking water, not to cook the beans. Take a cup of dried black beans (don't use canned!), place them in a large glass jar or bowl, and cover them with two to three times the amount of cold water. Let them soak for 12-24 hours. You'll notice the water turning a deep, inky purple-grey. This is your dye! Carefully strain out the beans (you can still cook and eat them) and reserve the water.
Submerge your wet, mordanted fabric into this cold dye bath. Now, just let it sit. This is a slow, cold-infusion process. Check on it every few hours. You might see a beautiful soft grey after four hours, which could deepen into a lovely blue after twelve. You can leave it for up to 48 hours for the deepest shades. The results are subtle, sophisticated, and have a gorgeous, slightly mottled quality that you can only get from this gentle method.
6. Spinach or Nettle: Chasing Elusive Greens
Obtaining a true, vibrant green from green leaves is one of the great challenges in natural dyeing. This is because the green we see in plants comes from chlorophyll, which is unfortunately not a stable or effective dye. However, you can coax lovely, soft, earthy greens from ingredients like spinach or foraged nettles (wear gloves!). The resulting colours are more of a sage, khaki, or celadon green—subtle, muted, and incredibly beautiful.
The process involves gently coaxing the colour out without overheating it. Roughly chop a large amount of spinach (a full bag or more) and place it in your pot. Cover with water and heat it very gently. You want to keep the temperature below a simmer, as boiling can destroy the delicate pigment and result in a sludgy brown. Keep it on low heat for about an hour, then let it steep as it cools.
To push the colour into a deeper, more mossy green, you can experiment with an iron modifier. This is a simple but effective technique often used by advanced dyers like Goh Ling Yong to expand their colour palette. Create an iron solution by soaking a few rusty nails in a small jar with equal parts water and vinegar for a week. After your fabric has been dyed in the spinach bath, add just a teaspoon of this iron water to a new pot of fresh water. Submerge your dyed fabric for a few minutes and watch the colour instantly "sadden" or shift into a richer, more complex shade of green. It's a fantastic next step for the curious beginner.
Your Creative Journey Starts Now
You’ve journeyed from avocado to aubergine, from sunshine yellow to stormy grey, all without leaving your kitchen. Natural dyeing is a powerful reminder that beauty and creativity are all around us, often in the very things we’re about to throw away. It teaches us to slow down, to observe, and to embrace the beautiful imperfections that make each piece truly unique.
Don’t be afraid to experiment. What happens if you mix onion skins with avocado pits? Or dip a turmeric-dyed sock into a red cabbage bath? The possibilities are endless, and the most exciting results often come from happy accidents.
We would absolutely love to see what you create! What kitchen scraps are you inspired to try first? Share your natural dyeing experiments on Instagram and be sure to tag our studio so we can celebrate your colourful creations. Happy dyeing
About the Author
Goh Ling Yong is a content creator and digital strategist sharing insights across various topics. Connect and follow for more content:
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