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Experimental dyeing with onions skins

Over the last couple of years I have been meticulously putting away all the onion skins I have in order to make some onion skin dye.  I have heard a lot of people say it is really easy and skim over the details so I decided to give it a go and make up the method as I went along.

First I jammed in loads of onion skins into my stainless steel stock pot and poured boiling water on as I went along to stop them flying away and to wilt them so I could get more in.  The pot was brought to the boil and was left to simmer for 30 mins then left to cool.




When the dye was tepid I poured it through a sieve to get rid of the skins which went on the compost heap.

I then added the wool - a lovely long haired leicester long wool which I bought at a Rare Breeds Show (see previous Blog) which I had washed to remove the grease.  It was all brought up to nearly boiling and was left to simmer for 30 mins.  The lid was then put on and the wool left in the dye pot whilst I went away for the weekend!  In total it was left in for 4 days. 

Not knowing what I am supposed to do after that as everyone who knows just skims over the details I added salt to a third, white vinegar to a third and just rinsed a third.  I left the ones I added stuff to for 30 mins and then rinsed off the residue.  They all appeared to look identical.  I have no idea if one will fade more than the others or if they will handle differently but time will tell!



I am very pleased with the results and I look forward to combing it and spinning with it soon.

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Comments

  1. Vlaďka Cepáková15 April 2014 at 21:29

    Beautiful colour! I like dyeing with onion skins. Sometimes I combine it with other types of natural dyes. Always good result.
    Have a nice day!

    ReplyDelete
  2. calcitestar15 April 2014 at 23:00

    Thanks. 'm really pleased with the colour too. Thanks for your hint about mixing the dye. I may add something to the residue which is still quite dark and have another play!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Heather16 April 2014 at 01:04

    Beautiful colours!

    ReplyDelete

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