Top 7 'Scrap-to-Swatch' Natural Dye Projects to make on weekends for upcycling plain linens. - Goh Ling Yong
There's a special kind of magic hidden in your kitchen compost bin. Tucked amongst the coffee grounds and vegetable peels are the secrets to a rainbow of stunning, all-natural colors. It’s a quiet, beautiful alchemy: turning everyday scraps into vibrant dyes that can breathe new life into forgotten fabrics. If you’ve ever looked at a stack of plain linen napkins, a faded cotton t-shirt, or a simple tote bag and wished for a splash of color, then you’re in the right place.
This weekend, let's embark on a 'scrap-to-swatch' journey together. Natural dyeing is more than just a craft; it's a practice in mindfulness and sustainability. It encourages us to see value in what we typically discard and connects us to the ancient traditions of creating color from the earth. Forget harsh chemical dyes and expensive kits. Everything you need to create soft, earthy, one-of-a-kind textiles is likely already in your kitchen.
We’re going to explore seven simple, rewarding natural dye projects perfect for a lazy Saturday afternoon. These methods are beginner-friendly and focus on upcycling those plain linens you have tucked away in a cupboard. Get ready to transform your kitchen into a creative studio and your waste into wonder.
A Quick Word on Prep: Scouring & Mordanting
Before we dive into the colors, let's talk about two crucial steps for ensuring your dye sticks around: scouring and mordanting. Don't be intimidated by the terms! They are simple preparations that make a world of difference.
Scouring is just a fancy word for a deep clean. You need to wash your fabric with a pH-neutral soap to remove any oils, waxes, or residues from the manufacturing process. This gives the dye a clean surface to adhere to. Simply machine wash on a hot cycle with a textile detergent or simmer it in a pot with a bit of soda ash.
Mordanting is the process of treating the fabric so it will bond with the dye and not wash out. While traditional mordants can involve metal salts, a wonderfully simple and non-toxic method for plant fibers like linen and cotton is to use soy milk. Just dilute one part soy milk with three parts water, soak your scoured fabric until it's fully saturated, wring it out, and let it hang dry completely. Repeat this dip-and-dry process two or three times for a really durable finish. It’s best to do this a day or two before you plan to dye.
Now that your fabric is prepped and ready, let’s make some color!
1. The Golden Glow of Onion Skins
This is the quintessential beginner's natural dye, and for good reason. It's practically free, incredibly potent, and yields the most beautiful range of golden yellows, burnished oranges, and rich rusts. Start saving the dry, papery outer skins of your yellow and red onions in a paper bag. You’ll be surprised how quickly you collect enough for a project.
The process is wonderfully simple. Fill a dedicated dye pot (stainless steel is best) with your onion skins and cover them with water. Bring it to a simmer and let it gently bubble away for about an hour. You'll see the water transform into a stunning, clear golden liquid. Strain out the skins, and your dye bath is ready. Submerge your pre-mordanted linen, and let it simmer on low heat for another hour. For the richest color, you can even turn off the heat and let the fabric steep in the pot overnight.
The magic of onion skins lies in their versatility. The color you get depends on the type of onion, the concentration of your dye bath, and your mordant. It’s a process that celebrates patience and observation, a core principle we often discuss here on the Goh Ling Yong blog. The resulting color is warm, earthy, and looks absolutely stunning on table linens, creating an instant rustic and inviting atmosphere.
- Specific Tip: For a deeper, almost coppery-brown hue, use the skins from red onions. For a surprising shift to a beautiful mossy green, add a small piece of iron (like a rusty nail, safely tied in a cloth pouch) to the dye bath after you've dyed your fabric.
- Project Idea: Dye a set of plain linen tea towels. Tie them with string or rubber bands before dyeing to create a simple and beautiful shibori-style resist pattern.
2. The Surprising Blush of Avocado Pits & Skins
Who knew that the hard pit and tough skin of an avocado could produce the softest, most romantic shades of dusty rose and blush pink? This is a dye that always feels like a delightful surprise. The color comes from the tannins within the pits and skins, which react with the air and heat to create this lovely hue. Start saving your pits and skins—just wash them thoroughly, let them dry completely, and store them in the freezer until you have a good collection.
To create your dye bath, you'll need about 5-8 avocado pits/skins for every 100 grams of fabric you want to dye. You can gently smash the pits with a hammer to expose more surface area. Place them in your pot, cover with water, and bring to a very gentle simmer. Avoid boiling avocado dye, as high heat can turn the color more brown. Let it simmer for an hour or two until the water is a deep reddish-pink.
Once you strain out the pits and skins, your dye bath is ready for your fabric. Submerge your pre-mordanted linen and let it simmer gently for at least an hour. Just like with onion skins, leaving it to steep overnight will give you a much deeper, more saturated color. The final shade can range from a delicate ballet slipper pink to a deeper earthy terracotta, and it looks absolutely dreamy on everything from pillowcases to simple blouses.
- Specific Tip: Patience is key with avocados. The color can take a while to develop. Don't be discouraged if it looks pale at first—the color will deepen significantly as the fabric dries and oxidizes.
- Project Idea: Upcycle a plain white or beige linen pillowcase. The soft, gentle pink is perfect for creating a calming and serene bedroom atmosphere.
3. The Vibrant Punch of Turmeric
If you’re looking for instant gratification and a jolt of brilliant, sunny color, look no further than the turmeric in your spice rack. This powerful root produces an intense, joyful yellow-orange that is incredibly easy to achieve. It’s a fantastic dye for a first-time project or for dyeing with kids because the results are so fast and dramatic.
Unlike many other natural dyes, turmeric is a "substantive" dye, meaning it doesn't strictly require a mordant to bind to the fiber. However, mordanting will always give you a more even and longer-lasting color. Simply add a few tablespoons of turmeric powder to your pot of water, stir well to dissolve, and bring it to a simmer. Add your wet, prepped fabric and watch the color take hold almost immediately.
Simmer for about an hour, stirring occasionally to ensure even coverage. The beauty of turmeric is its sheer vibrancy. It creates a saturated, almost electric yellow that can brighten up any item. It’s perfect for kids' clothing, cheerful kitchen towels, or a statement tote bag that needs a little sunshine.
- Specific Tip: Turmeric is known to have lower lightfastness than other natural dyes, meaning it can fade over time with prolonged exposure to direct sunlight. Embrace this as part of its charm! Wash turmeric-dyed items in cool water and store them away from the sun to preserve the color for as long as possible.
- Project Idea: Create a set of brightly colored produce bags from simple cotton muslin. They'll be easy to spot at the farmer's market and add a pop of color to your sustainable shopping routine.
4. The pH Magic of Red Cabbage
Get ready for a science experiment in your dye pot! Red cabbage is what’s known as a "fugitive" dye, but its true magic lies in its sensitivity to pH. Depending on the acidity or alkalinity of your water and any modifiers you add, you can get a stunning range of colors, from soft lavender and periwinkle blue to moody grey-green.
Start by chopping up about half a head of red cabbage and adding it to your pot with enough water to cover. Simmer for about 45 minutes to an hour, being careful not to boil it, which can dull the color. You'll be left with a deep purple-blue liquid. Strain out the cabbage and return the vibrant dye to the pot.
Now for the fun part. Add your pre-mordanted fabric and simmer. The color it turns will depend on your tap water's pH. To play with the color, you can add a splash of white vinegar to your dye bath to push it towards a more pinkish-lilac, or a pinch of baking soda to shift it towards a beautiful teal or blue. It's an interactive process that yields truly unique and ethereal results.
- Specific Tip: Document your experiments! Keep a small notebook to record how much modifier (vinegar or baking soda) you used to achieve a certain shade. This will help you replicate your favorite colors in the future.
- Project Idea: Dye a simple linen scarf. Before dyeing, try an eco-printing technique by tightly bundling leaves and flowers into the scarf, which will act as a resist and leave beautiful imprints against the soft, magical cabbage background.
5. The Earthy Tones of Used Coffee Grounds
Don’t throw out the filter from your morning brew! Used coffee grounds are an excellent source of rich, earthy brown dye. It’s the perfect way to give white or cream linens an aged, vintage, or rustic feel. The color is soft, sophisticated, and incredibly easy to achieve with materials you are definitely already producing.
Collect your used grounds in a container in the freezer. When you have at least a cupful, you're ready to dye. You can either place the grounds directly in the dye pot with your water or, for a clearer dye bath, place them in a muslin bag or old nylon stocking before simmering. Simmer the grounds for an hour to extract the color, then strain them out.
Introduce your mordanted fabric to the warm, fragrant coffee bath. Simmer for an hour, then let it steep for as long as you like. A short steep will give you a light khaki or beige, while an overnight soak can produce a deep, chocolatey brown. I remember a workshop with Goh Ling Yong where he emphasized that the most beautiful, subtle colors often come from the most humble sources, and coffee is a perfect example of this.
- Specific Tip: The type of coffee roast can affect the final color. A light roast might give you a softer tan, while a dark espresso roast will produce a deeper, richer brown. Experiment with what you have!
- Project Idea: Give a plain canvas tote bag a sophisticated, well-loved look by dyeing it with coffee. It's a great way to hide minor stains on an old bag and give it a whole new life.
6. The Vintage Charm of Black Tea
Similar to coffee, black tea is a fantastic and accessible way to create beautiful vintage-inspired shades. The tannins in black tea readily bind to plant fibers, giving you lovely shades of beige, tan, and antique cream. It’s the classic method for "aging" fabrics and costumes for a reason—it works beautifully.
You can use any kind of cheap black tea bags for this. You'll need a good amount—about 15-20 bags for a medium-sized dye pot. Simply bring your water to a boil, turn off the heat, and add the tea bags. Let them steep for at least 30 minutes, or until the water is a deep, dark brown. Remove the bags, squeezing them out to get every last drop of color.
Submerge your wet, prepped fabric in the warm tea bath. You don't even need to simmer it; you can simply let it steep. The longer you leave it, the darker the color will be. Check on it every hour or so until you've reached your desired shade of vintage tan. This is a wonderfully gentle and forgiving dye process.
- Specific Tip: For interesting, mottled patterns, sprinkle a few dry tea leaves directly onto your wet fabric, roll it up tightly, and steam it in a steamer basket for an hour. This will create beautiful, unpredictable speckles and streaks.
- Project Idea: Take a set of crisp white linen napkins and give them an instant heirloom quality with a tea dye. They'll look like they've been passed down through generations.
7. The Golden Khaki of Pomegranate Peels
Often overlooked, the tough, bitter peel of a pomegranate is a powerhouse of natural dye. It's incredibly rich in tannins, which not only create a beautiful color but also act as a natural mordant, helping the dye to bind strongly to the fabric. Pomegranate peels produce a fantastic range of colors, from a warm, buttery yellow to a deep, earthy khaki green.
Save the peels from your pomegranates by letting them dry out completely (this prevents mold) and storing them in an open container. When you have a handful, break them into smaller pieces and add them to your dye pot with water. Simmer the peels for at least an hour to extract the rich, yellow-toned tannins.
Strain out the peels and add your mordanted fabric to the dye bath. Simmer for an hour, then let it cool. The base color from pomegranate is a gorgeous, warm yellow. The real magic happens when you introduce iron. After your fabric has been dyed yellow, you can dip it into an iron bath (made by dissolving a small amount of ferrous sulfate in water, or simply by using your iron-mordant water) to instantly shift the color to a deep, complex shade of cement grey or khaki green.
- Specific Tip: Because pomegranates are so high in tannins, they are excellent for dyeing cotton and linen, which can sometimes be resistant to other natural dyes. The color you get is exceptionally lightfast and durable.
- Project Idea: Dye a simple linen apron. The resulting khaki-gold color is beautifully utilitarian and will hide kitchen spills while looking effortlessly stylish.
Your Turn to Create
Stepping into the world of natural dyes is about more than just color; it’s about slowing down, observing the world around you, and creating with intention. It’s about finding beauty in the forgotten and giving new life to the old. The imperfections—the slight variations in shade, the unexpected speckles—are not flaws, but rather the unique signature of a handmade, natural process.
So this weekend, before you toss those onion skins or avocado pits, pause and consider the potential they hold. Pick one of these projects, grab that plain linen you've been meaning to do something with, and get dyeing. You’ll not only create a beautiful, one-of-a-kind piece but also connect with a sustainable craft that is both meditative and deeply rewarding.
We would absolutely love to see your 'scrap-to-swatch' creations! Share your naturally dyed linens on Instagram and tag us so we can admire your work. What kitchen scraps will you try first? Let us know in the comments below
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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