You probably know by now that I really luuuurrrvve my linens, especially bed and table linens. So it should come as no surprise that if I’m ever going to partake in any sort of “D-I-Y activity”, it’ll be something to do with linen!
About a month ago, my friend Sally, of Simmer and Boyle, dyed some fabric in a pot on her stove, using avocado pits / seeds and they turned the most beautiful shade of pink!
I honestly had no idea that the tannins in avocado seeds could dye linen such a beautiful shade of blush pink, and after seeing how well it turned out for Sally, I thought “I’m going to give this a whirl!”.
I used 10 x avocado seeds and I filled my pot with quite a bit of water (enough to dye 4-5 linen napkins). Also, my linens were already a pale oatmeal shade (not white) but I actually just wanted to lightly tint them pink so they had a pretty blush tone.
Avocados are perfect to use for dyeing fabrics as they contain a natural mordant which means they will naturally help the dye bind to the fabric without any additives. This means the colour is less likely to fade, even after washing.
Here’s what I did and how they turned out!
I pre-soaked the napkins in water then filled a large pot 3/4 full of water, added the washed avocado seeds and let it boil for about an hour (after about 30-40mins I did top the water up a little). While the pot was boiling I found that you can also use the avocado skins as well! So, given I was a little bit light on for seeds, I added all the skins from the 10 avocados (giving them a quick wash first to make sure there was no green bits left).
After about an hour, I turned the burner off, removed all the seeds and skins and added the 4 napkins to the pot of liquid (which was looking more orange than pink) with a plate on top to keep the napkins fully submerged (so they would colour evenly)…. and I waited. And waited. Another hour passed with them sitting in the liquid and they weren’t changing colour. So I just left them in the pot and got on with dinner. And every 30-60 mins I would turn the burner back on and bring it back up to the boil.
After a couple of hours, I checked on them and….. VOILA! And they were a blush pink! Not orange. Phew! I was SO excited but still wasn’t sure how the colour would hold once I washed them, so I just rang them out and left them to dry on a clothes horse. I then waited about 2 weeks before I washed them on a warm wash in the washing machine and the colour remained completely!
TOTAL SUCCESS!
I have plans to dye the whole colour wheel using natural dyes and recently bought a fantastic book from Rebecca Desnos in the UK which goes into all the natural organic botanicals you can use and what colour they turn. It’s my new obsession!
Let me know if you have a go at this as I’d love to see how it turns out for you!
Nicki xo
Dear Nicki,
I’m currently cutting up an old white linen sheet and making napkins. I’m going to try and dye them with the avocado pips. Do you think it will work with white linen?
Also, where did you get your round place mats from, they are lovely?
Hi Alice, I actually think white would work best so I say go for it! You probably won’t nee to leave them for long in the liquid either but watch them and see how they go. Just make sure you keep them submerged and move them around every so often so the colour is even. Let me know how they turn out! Oh and placemats from a wholesale supplier but Suzie Anderson Home sell them in Moss Vale and Bowral! xo
so beautiful Nikki!
Thanks Sal! Still so thrilled that they turned out and now I want to dye everything! ha. xo