Natural dyeing, color from the kitchen bin.
Onion skins, avocado pits and walnut hulls turn plain wool into colors no shop sells. Part cooking, part chemistry.
What it is like
Natural dyeing is cooking for cloth. Plant material is simmered into a dye bath, and fibre that has been prepared with a mordant, usually alum, takes up the color and keeps it.
The results are never quite the same twice, which is the charm and the frustration. A first weekend produces a warm gold from onion skins; from there it becomes a habit of saving scraps and trying things.
Indoors · Solo, For two
Is it for you?
You will probably love it if
- You like experiments where the result is a small surprise
- You knit, weave or sew and want your own colors
- You already save kitchen scraps for something
Maybe not, if
- You need exact, repeatable shades
- You have no stove time to spare for an hour of simmering
- You cannot keep a pot only for dye
The starter kit - $65
- Stainless steel pot, 8 qt or largerKept for dye only, never used for food again$25
- Alum mordant, 1 lbFixes the color to the fibre so it survives washing$12
- Undyed wool yarn, 2 skeinsWool takes natural dye more readily than cotton$13
- Strainer, tongs and rubber glovesDedicated to dyeing, like the pot$15
- Onion skins or avocado pitsSaved from the kitchen for a few weeksFree
- Everything you need to beginAbout $12 a month after that$65
Typical US prices for entry-level gear, rounded. Last checked October 2026. How we get the numbers
Your first project: golden yarn from onion skins
Dissolve alum in warm water, add the wet yarn and hold it just below a simmer for an hour.
Simmer a pot of dry yellow onion skins for an hour, then strain them out.
Put the damp mordanted yarn in the dye and keep it hot, not boiling, for an hour. Stir gently.
Let it cool in the pot, rinse until the water runs clear and hang it out of direct sun.
Use pots and tools kept only for dyeing, never for food. Wear gloves, ventilate the kitchen and store alum and dyestuffs labeled and away from children and pets.
What gives which color
On wool with an alum mordant. Shades shift with water, fibre and time.
| Dyestuff | Color | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Yellow onion skins | Gold to orange | The easiest first dye |
| Avocado pits and skins | Dusty pink | Needs a slow, long soak |
| Black walnut hulls | Deep brown | Stains everything it touches; wear gloves |
| Madder root | Brick red | Bought dried; keep it below a simmer |
| Indigo | Blue | A different process with a vat; a second-year project |
Why people quit
- Color that washes outSkipped or rushed mordanting. The alum bath is not optional.
- Felted yarnBoiling and stirring hard felts wool. Keep it hot and still.
- Expecting shop-bright colorsNatural dyes are softer and earthier. That is the appeal.
How it compares
| Natural dyeing | Basket weaving | Papermaking | Dried flower wreaths | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Start cost | $65 | $45 | $44 | $45 |
| Each month | $12 | $10 | $3 | $10 |
| Space | A kitchen counter | A table | A kitchen counter | A table |
| Noise | Quiet | Quiet | Low | Quiet |
| First result | 1 weekend | 1 weekend | 1 weekend | 1 afternoon |
| Mess | Pots and splashes | Water and offcuts | Water and pulp | Dropped petals |