AVOCADOS + FLORALS

Jan 27, 2017
4 min read

While I was pregnant and still living on the island early last year, I had found a pin (pinterest-a totally healthy obsession of mine) about using botanics and food scraps to naturally dye fabric, wood, etc. and I was sold and STOKED. I’ve always loved tie dying, but had only ever used the harsh chemical kits from Walmart and Target. Unfortunately I was brewing a tiny person within me and moving from Oahu to the mainland so my DIY project was put on hold. I had naturally dyed Willow’s crib sheets with coffee grounds, which was a blast, but that was the extent of my relationship with alternative dying methods, until now. As you can see I quickly scribbled down some instructions for myself many moons ago (it’s actually written on the back of the invitation design for mine + Willow’s blessingway). I kept it simple for myself-BOIL, ADD FABRIC, SIMMER FOR ONE HOUR, COOL OVERNIGHT. I’ll go into detail for ya’ll though so you know my exact process. Each time will be different because each plant/food skin holds it’s own dna, so interesting! Nonetheless it’s fun to try to master something new, so having a wee bit of guidance is a nice little help.

O N E / First, I filled a nice size pot/pan with tap water. I usually eyeball everything in my cooking space so I just made sure to have enough water to fully submerge all the fabrics. I only had a half of an avocado skin, and some florals, I let the avocado skin enjoy some soak time while the water worked it’s way to boil.

T W O / I had previously dried out my florals, so I'm sure if they were fresh the color and process could be vastly different! I'll try doing it with fresh flowers and stems next time to see the diversity, because playing with flowers is always a good time, am I right?.

T H R E E / Once the water reached a nice boil I tossed all my florals in to accompany the avocado skin. Holy moly the SMELL was so scrumptious after just a few minutes. I wasn't anticipating such a yummy aroma! I let them all boil and dance together for about 5-8 minutes.

F O U R / I gently (BOILING WATER PEOPLE) placed each piece of fabric into the water and stirred it up a tiny bit. The water was already changing it’s hue, and I was getting so excited. I wanted to stare and watch the magic unfold but I knew it was a process, and I needed to go do my mama things and forced myself to walk away and leave my pretty things to simmer for an hour.

F I V E / The hardest part of the process for me was having to let my little pot of rose hued nothings cool overnight. I’m really not the best with patience, so when I first learned of this process and read that I had to WAIT until the next day to see how my fabrics turned out, was what I thought to be torturous. After carrying a person in my body for ten months and having to wait to meet her, I learned that magical things take time, and it’s almost always worth the wait. So I could do this! haha

S I X / YOU GUYS. I’m obsessed already with blush-mauves that greeted me the next morning! My daughter Willow has made me into a pink person once she arrived so these were just to die for when I saw them. Years ago, I would have gagged. Oh how one little person can change you, or is it the hormones? Who knows, LOOK AT THE COLORS. It’s almost a copper type rose. Mmm. I love it.

S E V E N / Pretty simple step, just strain the liquid away from the fabrics or whatever you are dying. I caught the liquid in a pot underneath because I wanted to be able to dye more things later on.

E I G H T / Rinsing + ring those babies out! I just rinsed my fabrics under hot water in our copper sink, and rung them out by hand.

N I N E / I let my things sit out on the counter on a plate for about 5 hours. I wanted to let them breath at room temperature and sit even more in the saturation. Plus I’m a mama-so I had other priorities. haha

T E N / I used Seventh Generation detergent pods to wash my fabrics! We pretty much use Seventh Generation for everything, so I just used it out of habit. I washed it on cool, delicate. Dried it normally, and out came pretty blush materials!!

I absolutely adored this process, and cannot wait to try many many more techniques and different dyes/hues. I’ll be sure to share! If you have any questions, comments, or advice please reach out to me! I love sharing and learning, especially creatively!

**Both pieces of material were made of cotton. A pair of women's cotton bikini-cut underwear, and a cloth diaper insert.

All the love, all the light.

Now go play with some flowers + food!