Natural Dyeing with Yellow Onion Skins Tutorial

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I decided to venture into the world of natural dyeing! I am starting with natural onion dyeing because it's easy and only called for a salt solution. Most dyeing calls for chemicals, but there are ways to get natural colors without the chemicals. Onion skin dyeing is one of the easiest types of natural dyeing.

I collected my onion skins from meals I made over a month or so. They are easy to collect because they are dry and don't go bad. I used the little yellow onions that come in a bag because they are have so much peel on them!

Supplies:

Natural fibers to dye- 100% cotton, linen, and I used a vintage doily that was

Water 1 ½ cup salt

Onion Skins of 8 yellow onions- just the skins not the edible part

Equipment:

-Rubber Bands- https://amzn.to/3wIsYIL

-Hot Plate- https://amzn.to/3gQ4lV1

- 8 Quart Stock Pot- https://amzn.to/3d6w15J

-Iron- https://amzn.to/35CKbru

-Ironing Mat- https://amzn.to/2TQ3Ml1

-Drying Rack- https://amzn.to/3gHQLmU

Disclaimer: Please note that the links above are Amazon affiliate links- that means I get a commission when you buy these- at no extra cost to you. I use affiliate links on products that I have actually used. Thanks for your support.

Process: I tied up the fabric with various shibori folding techniques and then soaked them in the salt solution for about an hour. I warmed the salt solution before soaking to make sure the salt was totally dissolved. I saved the salt solution after soaking so I could add it to the pot after a while.

Then I started the heat on my big pot and added the clean onion skins. I let them start to get hot for about 20 min. I never let the solution boil but just kept it at a simmer. I bought a little hot plate to do this in my studio space but I did the test swatches on the stove. I have a lot of fun projects planned for this hot plate :)

I added the fabric in and let it simmer for 2 hours. After the fabric started to show some color (about 1 hour) I added the salt solution to the pot. After 2 hours I took the fabric out of the natural onion dye and let them cool. I rinsed them with cold water. Then I washed them with syntrapol. I heat set them with the iron on high. I think they turned out a really nice peachy color. I'm definitely excited to try more natural dyeing!

Check out my Skillshare Classes and Online Workshops:

How to Ice Dye for Beginners: You can get a free 14 day trial of Skillshare Premium with this link: https://skl.sh/3xKUPJf

Indigo Tie Dye Shibori for Beginners: You can get a free 14 day trial of Skillshare Premium with this link: https://skl.sh/3mPXk83

Live Online Shibori indigo Tie Dye for Beginners: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/shibori-indigo-tie-dye-for-beginners-virtual-workshop-tickets-104093582708?keep_tld=1

January 12, 2021 — Catherine Ruhl

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Natural Dyeing with Yellow Onion Skins Tutorial

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